I  WERE 

*!i:l:Si?f?:         •£-••? 

A  MAN 


HARRISON  ROBERTSON 


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AMOS  JUDD.     By  J.  A.  Mitchell,  Editor  of  "  Life  ' 
IA.     A  Love  Story.     By  Q.     [Arthur  T.  Quiller-Couch] 
THE    SUICIDE   CLUB.     By  Robert  Louis  Stevenson 
IRRALIE'S    BUSHRANGER.     By  E.  W.  Hornung 
A    MASTER    SPIRIT.     By  Harriet  Prescott  Spofford 
MADAME    DELPHINE.     By  George  W.  Cable 
ONE   OF  THE  VISCONTI.     By  Eva  Wilder  Brodhead 
A   BOOK   OF    MARTYRS.     By  Cornelia  Atwood  Pratt 
A    BRIDE    FROM   THE    BUSH.     By  E.  W.  Hornung 
THE    MAN    WHO    WINS.     By  Robert  Herrick 
AN    INHERITANCE.     By  Harriet  Prescott  Spofford 

THE    OLD   GENTLEMAN   OF  THE    BLACK   STOCK. 
By  Thomas  Nelson  Page 

LITERARV  LOVE    LETTERS  AND  OTHER  STORIES. 
By  Robert  Herrick 

A    ROMANCE    IN    TRANSIT.     By  Francis  Lynde 
IN    OLD    NARRAGANSETT.     By  Alice  Morse  Earle 
SEVEN    MONTHS  A    PRISONER.     By  J.  V    Hadley 
1   IF    I    WERE    A    MAN."     By  Harrison  Robertson 
SWEETHEARTS   AND    WIVES.     By  Anna  A.  Rogers. 

Other  volumes  to  be  announced 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN 


&  OffilF.  LIBRAS*.  LOS  ANGELES 

"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN 


" 


THE  STORY  OF  A  NEW-SOUTHERNER 


BY 
HARRISON   ROBERTSON 

AUTHOR   OF   "  HOW  THE   DERBY  WAS  WON 


Copyright,  1899,  by 
Charles  Scribner's  Sons 


TROW  DIRECTORY 
NEW  YORK 


"  IF  I  WERE  A  MAN  " 


SPURLOCK  sprang  into  the  saddle,  and  with 
loose  reins  rode  slowly  out  the  gravelled 
driveway  that  wound,  beneath  great  oaks 
and  greater  elms,  from  the  house  to  the  turn- 
pike. It  was  a  still  night  in  August,  and, 
though  beyond  the  trees  was  the  splendor  of 
the  full  moon,  Spurlock's  path  was  through 
shadow  so  sombre  that  the  mats  of  water- 
lilies  along  the  spring-branch  were  as  dreams 
of  mist,  and  the  drifting  flight  of  the  fire- 
flies was  mapped  in  continuous  luminous 
lines  instead  of  merely  flashing  points. 

Spurlock  passed  through  the  gate  and 
turned  down  the  River  Road.  As  he  did  so 
he  shook  up  his  horse,  but  the  animal  soon 
lapsed  back  into  its  lazy  loaf,  unnoted  by  its 
master.  Spurlock's  eyes  did  not  fall  below 
nor  extend  beyond  the  ears  of  his  horse; 
hence  he  did  not  see  his  Irish  setter  trotting 


2137958 


2  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

by  his  side,  in  violation  of  the  rule  which  he 
was  in  the  habit  of  enforcing  against  her  ac- 
companiment of  him  on  his  evening  calls 
at  Judge  Majendie's.  He  did  not  see  the 
beauty  of  the  place  and  the  hour  :  the  level 
road,  always  picturesque,  now  glorified  by 
the  magic  of  the  moonlight ;  to  the  left,  up- 
land stretches  of  woodland  and  meadow,  of 
farm-houses  glimmering  through  groves,  and 
dove-cote  cottages  nestled  on  ledge  or  perched 
on  hill-top ;  to  the  right,  the  sheen  of  the 
broad  Ohio,  spreading  away  from  the  bending 
boscage  of  the  Kentucky  shore — a  sea  asleep, 
to  stir  drowsily  in  the  far,  dim  billows  of  the 
Indiana  hills.  Spurlock  was  conscious  of  none 
of  this,  although  apart  from  his  consciousness 
all  of  it  entered  into  his  mood ;  for  while 
the  earth  was  under  the  spell  of  this,  the  most 
marvellous  magic  that  falls  upon  it,  there  is 
the  spell  of  a  still  more  marvellous  magic 
that  falls  upon  man.  That  spell  was  upon 
Spurlock  now.  He  was  in  love ;  he  was  on 
his  way  to  her ;  he  intended  to  tell  her  ;  he 
was  confident  of  her  consent  to  become  his 
wife. 

Two  miles  farther  down  the  road  his  horse 
stopped  of  its  own  accord  at  a  gate  in  front 
of  a  house  that  stood  back  some  fifty  yards. 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  3 

Spur  lock  hitched  the  horse  and  passed 
through  the  gate,  up  the  straight  brick  walk, 
lined  on  either  side  with  Norway  spruces 
and  beds  of  verbenas  and  carnations.  The 
house  was  a  two-story  brick,  whose  time- 
stains  were  partly  concealed  by  the  mass  of 
vines  that  clung  to  its  walls.  From  the 
main  hall  a  short  wing  extended  to  the  right 
and  a  longer  one  to  the  left ;  and  in  front  of 
the  house,  from  the  end  of  one  extension  to 
the  other,  ran  a  wide  veranda,  upon  which 
the  windows  opened  to  the  floor.  East, 
north,  and  west  were  exaggerated  gables,  un- 
der which  pigeons  cooed  and  swallows  chat- 
tered. It  was  the  residence  of  Judge  Majen- 
die,  who  held  court  in  Louisville  during  the 
day  and,  indeed,  spent  many  of  his  nights  in 
that  city,  but  who  retained  here  the  old  home- 
stead, with  a  few  acres  for  Mrs.  Majendie's 
garden,  cows,  and  fowls. 

It  was  not  often  on  summer  evenings  that 
Spurlock  found  the  veranda  unoccupied;  but 
as  he  approached  it  now,  he  was  pleased  to 
note  that  the  chairs  grouped  upon  it  were  all 
deserted.  It  never  disappointed  him  to  miss 
Judge  Majendie,  and  although  he  thought 
Mrs.  Majendie  the  most  lovable  of  women — 
after  her  daughter  Innis — he  did  not  wish  to 


4  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

see  even  Mrs.  Majendie  to-night.     To-night 
was  for  only  Innis  and  himself. 

Light  shone  through  the  windows  of  the 
library,  in  the  left  wing.  The  judge  was 
there  with  his  paper,  Spurlock  inferred  ap- 
provingly. But  light  also  shone  from  the 
windows  of  the  drawing-room  on  the  right, 
and  he  knew  that  Innis  was  there;  for  a 
Chopin  nocturne  drifted  out  to  him,  and 
there  was  no  one  in  all  his  world  who  could 
play  Chopin  like  Innis  Majendie. 

He  stepped  upon  the  veranda  and  leaned 
against  one  of  the  pillars,  with  a  glow  of 
happiness  on  his  face.  It  was  a  favorite  of 
his  that  she  was  playing ;  it  was  at  his  sug- 
gestion that  she  had  learned  it ;  it  was  as  it 
should  be,  he  felt,  that  at  this  hour  her  music 
was  that  which  must  be  accompanied  with 
some  thought  of  himself. 

As  he  rested  against  the  pillar,  his  smiling 
eyes  upon  the  filmy  curtains  that  were  the 
only  barriers  between  him  and  all  that  he 
wanted  of  earth  or  heaven,  the  soft  notes  of 
the  musician's  fantasy  slipped  as  a  trickling 
rillet  into  the  all-pervasive  flood  of  the  night's 
symphony  that  flowed  in  upon  all  his  senses. 
The  air  below  was  still,  but  in  the  topmost 
branches  of  the  trees,  especially  the  spruces, 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  5 

was  the  rune  of  the  primeval  forest ;  every- 
where was  the  chant  of  the  winged  things  of 
the  summer ;  under  the  eaves  was  the  fitful 
murmur  of  half-awakened  young  swallows  : 
far  away  over  the  water  sighed  the  strain  of 
a  waltz  from  an  excursion  steamer;  there 
was  the  balm  of  carnations  and  honey-suckle 
in  the  dew,  and  from  somewhere  fields  of 
white  clover  sent  their  tributes  of  incense  to 
night  and  love. 

The  music  ceased,  and  Spurlock,  with  a 
deep  breath,  as  if  to  drain  some  rare  draught, 
took  a  step  toward  the  window;  but  at  that 
instant  the  curtains  were  parted  and  Innis — 
Innis  all  in  white — was  between  them. 

"Oh,  it  is  Mr.  Spurlock!"  she  cried, 
with  a  pleased  welcome  in  her  voice.  "  How 
long  have  you  been  there?"  She  poised  for 
the  fraction  of  a  second  like  a  bird  just 
before  flight,  and  then,  with  a  slight,  quick 
lifting  and  flexure  of  the  arm  and  a  little 
trip  that  in  most  people  would  have  been 
ridiculous,  but  in  her  was  girlish  grace  itself, 
she  advanced  to  meet  him,  and  gave  him 
her  hand. 

"Always,  I  think,"  Spurlock  replied  to 
her  question;  "and  I  mean  to  stay  just  as 
long." 


6  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

"  Oh-h  !  Then  I  must  give  you  a  chair. 
You  must  be  tired  after  standing  so  long. ' ' 

"Was  I  standing?  I  shouldn't  like  to 
say  positively.  It  seemed  to  me  more  like — 
well,  like  I  was  floating,  what  with  the 
charm  of  the  night  and  the  music  —  it 
was  my  nocturne  you  were  playing,  you 
know." 

"  Yes,"  she  answered,  without  appearing 
to  notice  any  significance  in  the  way  he  said 
it ;  "  and  you  showed  such  good  taste  in  lik- 
ing Chopin  that  I  have  been  practising  the 
Grieg  spring  song  you  sent  me.  Come  in 
and  let  me  try  it  for  you." 

He  followed  her  through  the  window,  and 
stood  over  her  as  she  played.  His  eyes 
rested  fondly  on  her  hands  as  they  flitted 
over  the  keys  like  humming-birds  skimming 
and  kissing  some  bank  of  bloom ;  rested 
fondly  on  the  graceful  lines  of  the  slender 
wrists  from  which  the  loose  sleeves  fell  away; 
on  the  delicate  rose  of  arms  and  shoulder  be- 
neath the  thin  fabric  of  her  gown  ;  on  the 
small  head,  with  its  soft,  thick  hair  coiled 
low  upon  the  neck ;  on  the  drooping  lashes 
shadowing  the  firm  purity  of  the  skin ;  on 
the  spray  of  heliotrope  rising  and  sinking  at 
her  breast,  and  mingling  its  fragrance  with 


"IF  1  WERE  A  MAN"  7 

the  subtler  fragrance  of  all  her  presence  and 
her  nearness. 

"  Bewitching !  "  was  his  low-spoken  com- 
ment, as  she  ceased  playing  and  glanced  up 
at  him.  But  those  up-lifted  lashes  swept 
swiftly  downward  again,  carrying  with  them 
some  telegraphed  information  which  was  im- 
mediately answered  below  by  faintly  tinged 
cheeks  and  a  startled  flutter  of  the  two  hum- 
ming-birds along  the  keys  into  the  wild  Torch 
Dance  from  "  Henry  VIII."  Spurlock  saw 
she  understood  that  his  exclamation  had  not 
been  called  forth  by  the  music  alone,  and  he 
was  glad  she  understood. 

He  watched  her  a  little  longer,  and  then 
he  abruptly  stopped  the  fanfare  of  the  music 
by  almost  fiercely  catching  one  of  her  hands 
in  his  own.  "  Don't  play  such  things  as  that 
to-night!"  with  a  blending  of  tenderness 
and  command  in  his  voice  which  she  had 
never  heard  from  him  before. 

She  seemed  at  a  loss  for  a  moment  how  to 
take  it.  The  tinge  in  her  cheeks  quickened 
into  a  flush  ;  she  made  a  motion  to  rise,  and 
then  sank  back  to  her  seat,  withdrawing  her 
hand  from  his  and  looking  up  at  him  inquisi- 
tively, the  tense  seriousness  of  her  expression 
suddenly  breaking  in  a  bewildered  smile. 


"  IF  I  WERE  A  MAN  " 

"  Why,"  she  said,  uncertainly,  "  what  an 
uncomplimentary  way  you  have  of  showing 
your  dislike  of  my  music." 

"  You  know  it  is  not  that;  but  when  you 
play  such  things,  it  is  the  untamed  side  of 
you  that  appears.  Do  you  remember  the  day 
when  you  went  tearing  on  Madcap  through 
the  woods  and  fields,  over  fences  and  ditches, 
leaving  me  a  long  and  lonesome  ride  on  a 
winded  horse,  in  my  attempt  to  catch  you  ? 
You  seemed  to  be  running  away  from  me  on 
Madcap  again  when  I  stopped  your  playing 
just  then." 

"Dear  old  Madcap!  "  she  said,  with  a 
li  ttle  laugh  of  pleased  retrospection .  « <  There 
was  not  a  horse  at  Airdrie  that  could  have 
caught  him  that  day.  I  am  afraid  he  will 
never  give  me  another  such  ride.  Since 
father  had  him  broken  to  harness,  his  spirit 
seems  broken  too." 

"  I'm  glad  of  it.  He  was  not  the  horse  for 
a  girl  to  ride  "—the  truth  being  that  it  was 
at  Spurlock's  earnest  suggestion,  unknown  to 
Innis,  that  Judge  Majendie  had  ordered  Mad- 
cap to  be  put  to  regular  work.  "  Besides," 
Spurlock  went  on,  with  a  new  seriousness  in 
his  voice,  "I  don't  want  you  to  run  away 
from  me  any  more.  Innis,"  his  words  low- 


"  IF  I  WERE  -A  MAN  "  9 

pitched  with  feeling,  ''I — don't  see  why  I 
should  keep  silent  longer.  I  love  you.  I 
want  you  to  know  it.  I  want  to  hear  you  say 
you  love  me.  I  want  you  to  be  my  wife." 

He  had  taken  her  hand — it  was  with  an 
effort  that  he  had  restrained  himself  from 
gathering  her  in  his  arms — and  stood  looking 
down  at  her  with  tenderness  and  expectation, 
rather  than  inquiry,  in  his  eyes. 

She  had  risen  as  he  spoke.  There  was  a 
droop  in  her  usually  erect  figure.  Her  face 
was  aglow  and  very  grave.  For  a  little  her 
eyes  were  downcast,  and  when  she  raised 
them  to  his  they  were  clouded  with  emotion. 
"  I  am  so  sorry,"  she  said,  simply  and  deeply. 
"  I  did  not  look  for  this — now.  I  did  not 
wish  it." 

His  eyelids  quivered,  as  before  some  physi- 
cal blow  aimed  at  him ;  his  face,  at  first  a 
blank,  paled  and  aged;  his  hand,  still  hold- 
ing hers,  grew  numb  in  her  clasp.  When  he 
found  voice,  it  was  halting  and  vacuous. 
' '  You  mean — surely  you  cannot  mean — that 
you  do  not  care  for  me?  " 

"  I  am  afraid  I  do  not — not  in  that  way," 
she  answered  gently,  releasing  her  hand  from 
his  own  nerveless  grasp.  "Oh!  why  did 
you  do  this  ?  We  were  such  good  friends  ! ' ' 


io  "IF  1  WERE  A  MAN" 

She  turned  her  head  away  to  hide  her  eyes. 
She  tried  to  repress  the  welling  tears,  but 
vainly.  After  a  little  it  dawned  upon  Spur- 
lock  that  she  was  crying  in  her  handkerchief. 

It  was  to  him  something  like  the  pass  with 
which  the  hypnotist  awakens  his  subject. 
Spurlock  brushed  his  hand  across  his  fore- 
head, the  strained  lines  of  his  face  relaxed, 
and  he  took  a  quick  step  to  her  side.  "  I 
did  not  think  to  distress  you,"  he  said,  sor- 
rowfully. "  You  must  not  let  it  disturb  you. 
Come,"  touching  her  arm  and  leading  her  to 
a  chair,  "let  us  sit  down.  There  are  one  or 
two  things  I  wish  to  say  to  you.  After  that, 
if  it  is  your  desire,  we  will  not  speak  of  this 
again." 

They  sat  in  silence  for  a  little,  he  reflect- 
ively studying  the  carved  dragon  on  the  arm 
of  his  chair  and  waiting  for  her  to  regain  her 
composure. 

"  I  do  not  deny,"  he  began,  "  that  I  was 
wholly  unprepared  for  your  answer;  that  I 
was  surprised  as  well  as  crushed " 

"Surely, "she  interposed,  with  a  slight 
gesture  of  deprecation,  "you  did  not  think 
that  I  had " 

"No,  no!"  he  protested,  emphatically; 
"  do  not  say  it.  I  have  never  had  any  such 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  n 

thought  of  you.  I  have  never  seen  anything 
of  conscious  coquetry  in  you.  You  must  not 
misunderstand  me:  I  did  expect — something 
very  different  from  what  you  have  told  me 
to-night,  but  you  are  not  to  blame  for  my 
delusion.  It  would  be  easier  for  me  if  I  be- 
lieved that  you  were.  I  suppose  it  was  all 
because  it  seemed  so  natural  that  it  should 
be  as  I  wished  ;  that  we  should  always  be  to- 
gether. We  were  such  good  comrades ;  we 
were  so  happy  with  each  other;  you  filled  all 
my  world  with  such  radiance  and  restfulness, 
such  joy  and  content,  that  I  did  not  stop  to 
reflect  that  in  the  end  I  might  not  be  to  you 
all  that  you  were  to  me.  Because  life  with 
you  was  all  that  it  should  be,  all  that  I  wished 
it  to  be,  I  must  have  had,  in  the  fulness  of 
it,  no  room  for  a  realization  that  it  might 
be  less  to  you.  Because  from  the  first  you 
satisfied  so  completely  all  my  desires  and 
dreams,  I  did  not  pause  to  question  my  good 
fortune;  and  if  I  had,  I  should  not  then  have 
been  capable  of  the  pessimism  of  believing 
that  a  man  could  be  created  whose  desires  and 
dreams  such  a  woman  as  you  alone  could 
satisfy,  and  yet  be  doomed  by  such  a  defi- 
ciency in  himself  as  to  preclude  any  adequate 
response  from  her. ' ' 


12  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

His  eyes  fell  again  to  the  dragon  as  he 
ceased  speaking.  The  girl  turned  to  him 
a  little  dubiously  and  wistfully.  He  had 
stumbled  and  hesitated  in  his  words,  which 
were  not  as  unambiguous  as  his  speech  with 
her  usually  was. 

"  That  of  the  past,  however,"  he  resumed, 
meeting  her  eyes  with  a  new  concern  in  his 
own;  "  you  must  allow  me  a  word  now  of 
the  future.  You  have  told  me  to-night  that 
— you  do  not  care  for  me.  But  I  shall  not 
give  you  up — I  shall  never  give  you  up — as 
long  as  there  is  a  possibility  of  your  caring 
for  me,  or  rather  as  long  as  I  do  not  know 
that  there  is  no  impossibility  of  your  caring 
for  me.  Won't  you  tell  me — and,  remem- 
ber, it  means  everything  to  me  now. — wheth- 
er you  are  certain  that  there  is  any  such 
impossibility  ?  If  you  are,  that,  of  course, 
is  the  end  ;  but  if  you  are  not,  then  I  shall 
live  to  win  you  yet." 

She  was  gazing  intently  at  the  handker- 
chief whose  edge  she  was  passing  nervously 
through  her  fingers.  He  waited,  but  she  did 
not  reply. 

"  May  I  not  ask  that  much  of  you?  "  he 
said,  gently. 

She  looked  up  at  him  now  with  eyes  steady 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  13 

and  clear.  "  Yes,"  she  answered,  "  you 
have  a  right  to  ask  me  that.  And  I  am  not 
conscious  of — of  the  impossibility  of  which 
you  speak. ' ' 

It  was  little  enough  for  a  man  who  a  few 
minutes  before  had  asked  everything,  but  it 
was  new  life  to  Spurlock,  and  his  face  and 
voice  showed  it  as  he  simply  said,  "  Thank 
you." 

Then  he  rose  and  held  out  his  hand. 
"  Good-night.  And  you  must  not  be  afraid 
that  I  am  going  to — to  annoy  you  with  un- 
welcome insistence." 

"  No,"  she  replied,  trustfully,  with  a  faint 
smile;  ''we  are  to  be  just  the  same  good 
friends  as  always." 

She  accompanied  him  out  on  the  veranda 
as  she  spoke,  and  stood  beside  him  looking 
down  the  avenue  of  spruces,  over  which  the 
moon  now  hung  high  in  the  zenith.  "  Be- 
sides," she  continued,  "even  if  I  felt  other- 
wise, I  should  not — not  marry  now.  I  am 
too  young.  I  am  only  twenty-two,  and  I 
do  not  intend  to — take  any  such  step  before 
I  am  twenty-five. 

"Three  years!"  Spurlock  objected. 
"  That  is  a  long  time.  You  do  not  mean — 
we  ought  to  understand  each  other  to-night 


14  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

— that  I  am  not  to  speak  to  you  again  about 
this  for  three  years  ?  " 

"Yes!  Oh,  yes!  Don't  you  think  that 
would  be  best  ?  ' ' 

"  No,  I  do  not  think  so.  For  me  it  would 
be  three  years  lost  out  of  the  best  part  of  life. 
Three  years  is  an  age  to  work  and  wait  for 
one  without  even  a  word  of  hope  from  her." 

"  Why  not  work " 

They  were  now  walking  slowly  up  and 
down  the  long  veranda,  and  Spurlock  allowed 
her  several  seconds  to  finish  her  question. 
"  Why  not  what  ?  "  he  finally  reminded  her. 

"  Why  not  work  for — others,  for  your- 
self?" She  turned  away  from  his  sudden- 
ly fixed  gaze,  on  the  pretext  of  breaking  off 
a  sprig  of  honeysuckle  that  grew  beside  the 
veranda. 

"I  am  not  sure  that  I  quite  understand," 
he  said,  smiling. 

"  There  is  so  much  work  in  the  world," 
she  explained,  quickening  a  little  both  her 
words  and  her  steps,  ' '  and  you ' ' 

"  And  I,"  with  a  slight  laugh,  "  have  not 
done  my  share?  Yes,  I  have  been  very 
much  of  a  drone  among  the  workers,  I  must 
admit." 

"  And  you  are  capable  of  such  good  work, 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  15 

I  am  sure,"  kindling,  "  and  there  is  so  much 
more  in  life  than — than " 

"Than  love?" 

"  Oh,  if  I  were  a  man  !  if  I  were  a  man  !  " 

"  And  if  you  were  a  man?  " 

"I  should  do  things  !  " 

Spurlock's  laugh  had  something  of  its  nat- 
ural ring  for  the  first  time  that  evening. 

"  Things  that  ought  to  be  done,  and 
must  be  done,  but  won't  be  done  unless 
men — real  men — do  them,"  she  added. 

That  was  a  side  of  Innis  which  Spurlock 
had  never  seen  before.  It  amused  him  ;  and 
lightened  for  the  moment  the  burden  of  his 
own  disappointment  and  pain. 

They  walked  the  length  of  the  veranda 
two  or  three  times,  and  then  Spurlock 
swung  back  to  the  point  of  most  immediate 
interest  to  him.  "I  have  made  up  my 
mind  about  my  course,"  he  said.  "  I  hope 
you  will  not  stand  out  for  three  years,  but  it 
is  not  for  me  to  argue  that  with  you  now.  If 
I  am  to  observe  your  wishes  and  not  speak 
of  this  again  for  three  years,  I  want  you  to 
promise  that  should  you,  for  any  reason, 
change  during  that  time,  and  find  that  you 
have  learned  to — to  like  me  better,  you  will, 
in  simple  mercy,  let  me  know." 


I(5  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

"  Oh,  I  could  not  do  that !  " 
"Yes,  you  could;  and  you  would  if  you 
knew   how   much  it   would   mean   to   me. 
Think  what  three  years  must  be  to  one  who 
is  waiting  for  your  love,  and  how  inexpres- 
sibly you  may  bless  him  by  every  hour  you 
lessen  that  time.     There  will  never  be  a  day 
when  I  shall  not  long  for  some  such  sign 
from  you.     And  you  will  never  doubt  my 
constancy ;  for  a  woman  like  you,  once  she 
knows  that  she  has  inspired  such  a  love  as 
mine,  would  be  quick  and  infallible  in  rec- 
ognizing  its   weakening   or   withdrawal,  if 
either  were  possible.     Here,"  taking  a  little 
sardonyx  seal  from  his  fob,  "  is  something  of 
yours  which  you  did  not  know  I  had."     He 
stopped  in  the  light  of  one  of  the  library 
windows  and,  opening  the  trinket,  disclosed 
a  small  wisp  of  hair  curled  therein. 

Judge  Majendie,  looking  up  from  his 
paper  on  the  other  side  of  the  curtains,  saw 
Spurlock  hand  the  seal  to  Innis,  and  heard 
him  say:  "I  stole  that  one  day  last  June 
when  I  found  you  asleep  in  the  summer- 
house.  Your  embroidery  scissors  were  near, 
and  I  was  a  proud  thief.  I  have  no  right  to 
it  now.  But  if  the  time  should  ever  come, 
before  the  three  years  have  passed,  when  you 


"IF  I  WERE   A  MAN"  17 

feel  more  kindly  to  me  and  are  willing  to 
let  me  keep  it  forever,  simply  send  it  back  to 
me,  and  I  will  hasten  across  the  world  to 
claim  you." 

The  two  continued  down  the  veranda; 
then  the  judge  heard  Spurlock  say  good- 
night a  moment  later  and  ride  away.  The 
judge  folded  his  paper  and  stared  with  a 
frown  through  the  window.  "The  silly 
child  !  "  was  the  thought  behind  the  frown. 
"  I  do  believe  she  has  thrown  him  over." 


II 

IF  Innis  Majendie  had  meant  to  speak  in 
words  which  would  later  distract  Spurlock's 
thoughts  in  some  degree  from  his  unhappy 
fortune  at  her  hands,  she  could  have  hardly 
chosen  anything  more  effective  than  her 
chance  remarks  about  her  hypothetical 
course  as  a  man.  Spurlock  was  not  given  to 
self- analysis ;  but  there  were  moments,  prob- 
ably as  often  as  once  or  twice  a  year,  when 
he  had  a  discommoding  but  passing  con- 
sciousness of  his  idleness.  He  had  been  at 
the  time  more  amused  than  anything  else  at 
Innis's  unpremeditated  suggestion,  but  in 
the  month  that  followed  there  was  never  a 
day  when  he  did  not  feel  its  force.  He  felt 
it  all  the  more,  perhaps,  because  he  had 
never  suspected  so  serious  a  bent  in  the 
girl's  mind.  His  intimacy  with  her  had 
been  wholly  of  the  spring  and  summer ;  of 
rides  through  the  country  lanes,  boating  on 
the  river,  romps  in  the  woods,  a  picnic  now 
and  then  at  Fincastle,  an  occasional  game  of 
18 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  19 

golf  at  the  club  links  near  by,  tennis  on  the 
lawn,  and  lounging  on  the  veranda.  He  had 
had  no  thought  of  his  own  shortcomings 
when  with  her.  It  had  been  but  a  long 
sunny  day,  with  the  blue  of  the  sky  and  the 
green  of  the  leaves,  the  lilt  of  the  birds  and 
the  croon  of  running  water  ;  and  Innis  and 
he  had  been  in  and  of  it  all.  He  had  not 
looked  forward  to  the  ending  of  such  a  day. 
Why  should  it  end  while  they  had  each 
other  ?  Why  probe  beneath  the  beauty  of 
the  sward  for  the  grime  beneath  ?  He  had 
not  done  so  ;  he  had  never  dreamed  that  In- 
nis had. 

But  he  knew  that  she  was  right.  What 
was  he  to  inspire  a  woman's  love?  What 
had  he  to  offer  when  he  asked  such  a  love  ? 
A  comfortable  home  and  an  ample  income, 
it  is  true ;  but  women  accept  homes,  they 
give  themselves  to  men.  ' '  If  I  were  a  man, ' ' 
she  had  said.  And  what  of  a  man  was  he  ? 
He  was  accounted  well-to-do,  but  he  had 
nothing  that  his  father  had  not  left  him.  He 
spent  money  freely,  but  he  had  never  earned 
a  dollar.  He  had  never  done  anything  to 
prove  that  he  could  fight  his  way  among 
men,  on  his  own  merits,  and  with  even 
chances.  He  had  never  done  anything  to 


20  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

show  that  he  had  any  of  that  power  which 
shapes  the  moral  and  material  progress  of 
the  world,  and  which,  in  some  development, 
must  be  the  basis  of  woman's  surrender  to 
man. 

Poor  Innis  !  That  light-hearted  girl  prob- 
ably would  have  been  much  surprised  if  she 
had  known  that  her  words  had  caused  any 
such  train  of  reflections  by  Spurlock. 

That  Spurlock  had  not  always  counted 
on  being  an  idler  had  been  indicated  by 
the  zeal  with  which  he  had  applied  himself 
to  the  law  course  after  he  had  taken  his 
academic  degree.  But  there  had  been  no 
immediate  necessity  for  his  going  to  work 
at  anything  on  leaving  college.  He  had 
wished  to  see  the  world,  and  he  had  seen  it. 
He  had  found  life  pleasant,  and  he  had  taken 
it  as  he  found  it.  With  an  occasional  run 
abroad,  two  or  three  months  in  Ne\v  York 
and  New  Orleans  in  winter,  and  his  fishing 
and  hunting  trips  to  the  West  in  summer,  the 
years  had  drifted  by  until  they  had  carried 
him  into  the  thirties ;  and  he  had  not  yet  be- 
gun the  practice  of  his  profession,  or  even 
spent  much  of  his  time  at  Airdrie,  the  home 
which  his  dead  father  had  made  for  him. 

Airdrie  was  a  familiar  name  less  than  a 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  21 

generation  ago  among  those  interested  in  the 
thoroughbred  horse,  and  lovers  of  the  beau- 
tiful who  never  saw  that  great  mare  run  in  a 
race  have  missed  something  which  thousands 
in  her  day  travelled  across  counties  and  States 
to  see.  There  have  been  many  things  as 
beautiful  as  Airdrie  in  her  stable,  but  few  as 
beautiful  as  Airdrie  in  a  race.  She  had  a 
way  of  running  that  was  all  her  own.  She 
was  about  as  big  and  brown  as  a  wren,  and 
as  demure,  but  in  her  races  she  skimmed  the 
course  with  the  swiftness  and  grace  of  a  swal- 
low. Airdrie  was  in  no  way  conspicuous  in 
the  paddock;  but  on  the  track,  once  the  start- 
er's flag  had  fallen,  it  was,  as  Tot  Waugh  so 
often  sang  of  her  at  such  times, 

"  Sail  away,  lady,  sail  away!  " 

That  was  Airdrie.  Other  horses  ran  with 
high  leaps,  with  mighty  plunges,  with  strain- 
ing strides ;  Airdrie  simply  sailed — and 
sailed  away.  Her  motion  was  apparently 
without  the  least  effort.  At  the  finish  of  her 
races  it  was  her  wont  to  sail  in  with  an  easy 
lead,  never  seeming  to  have  "  turned  a  hair  " 
(Tot  Waugh)  or  quickened  a  breath,  her 
ears  pointing  meditatively  forward  instead  of 
pressing  strenuously  backward,  and  her  eyes 


22  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

set  serenely  on  the  far  horizon,  while  in  her 
swirling  wake  whipped  and  struggled,  stag- 
gered and  swerved  her  competitors,  like  so 
much  hopeless  flotsam  on  the  waves  she  had 
stirred. 

That  was  the  argosy  that  brought  Spur- 
lock's  father  his  fortune.  Airdrie  swept 
the  big  two-year-old  stakes ;  she  did  well  as 
a  three-year-old ;  as  a  four-year-old  she  was 
invincible  ;  and  when  she  was  retired,  a  few 
months  later,  old  David  Spurlock  had  added 
to  his  modest  acres  many  others,  had  built 
upon  them  a  big  mansion,  and  had  given  to 
his  now  valuable  stock  farm  the  name  of  the 
mare  to  whom  he  owed  it.  After  his  death 
one  of  his  men  had  continued  to  manage  it, 
by  arrangement  with  the  younger  Spurlock, 
whose  taste  did  not  run  to  race-horses,  and 
who  was  satisfied  with  the  arrangement,  as  it 
yielded  him  an  income  more  than  sufficient 
for  his  desires.  That  was  how  it  was  that 
Spurlock  came  and  went  as  he  pleased,  pleas- 
ing to  remain  so  little  at  Airdrie. 

He  had  remained  all  this  spring  and  sum- 
mer because  he  had  found  Innis  Majendie  his 
neighbor.  Innis  had  been  away  at  school 
for  six  or  seven  years,  and  Spurlock  had 
never  known  her  before.  And  Airdrie,  with 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  23 

Innis  a  mile  or  two  down  the  road,  and  Air- 
drie,  with  Innis  unknown,  were  two  very 
different  matters. 

Most  of  the  month  following  his  interview 
with  Innis  Spurlock  had  passed  among  the 
Northwestern  lakes,  but  there  was  little  zest 
in  the  fishing  this  year,  and  he  had  run  down 
to  Chicago.  Chicago  was  no  better.  One 
of  his  friends  was  bustling  off  to  Honduras  to 
start  a  coffee  plantation,  and  another  was  in 
the  thick  of  a  fight  over  a  street  -  railway 
franchise.  He  returned  to  Airdrie  and  spent 
an  afternoon  wandering  among  the  stables 
and  paddocks.  Next  morning  he  set  his 
manager  to  wondering  by  going  carefully 
over  the  books  with  him.  In  the  afternoon 
he  went  to  call  on  Innis  Majendie,  but  learned 
that  she  was  out  on  the  river  in  John  Hil- 
born's  launch.  That  night  he  took  down  one 
of  his  law  books,  and,  looking  over  it,  was 
surprised  to  find  how  much  of  it  he  had  not 
forgotten.  Walking  along  West  Jefferson 
Street,  in  Louisville,  next  day,  he  saw  stand- 
ing near  the  entrance  of  a  saloon  a  fashion- 
ably dressed  man,  with  a  flower  on  his  coat, 
talking  to  a  shabbily  dressed  man  with  a 
flower  on  his  nose.  The  fashionably  dressed 
man  was  Judge  Majendie,  who  smiled  a  cor- 


24  "  IF  I   WERE  A  MAN  " 

dial  greeting  to  Spurlock  as  he  passed.  "  Oh, 
Ogden,"  he  called,  «  can  you  wait  for  me 
just  a  minute  ?  I'd  like  a  word  with  you  if 
you  are  not  too  busy." 

Spurlock  stepped  to  the  edge  of  the  side- 
walk and  stopped.     The  judge  was  a  hand- 
some figure  as    he    talked  with  his   rough 
companion.     Six  feet  tall,  broad  shoulders, 
deep  chest,  narrow  hips,  every  line   betok- 
ened grace  and  strength.      His   fine   head 
was  thickly  covered  with  prematurely  white 
hair,  which  he  had  his  barber  carefully  train 
to  fall  just  within  his  high  collar.     His  clear- 
cut  features  were  unconcealed  by  a  closely 
cropped  Vandyke  beard;  he  had  the  com- 
plexion of  a  boy  and  the  dark,  soft  eyes  of  a 
woman.    But  his  eyes  were  too  near  together, 
and  his  mouth  was  too  small.     He  was  affa- 
bility itself  to  the  man  beside  him,  and  that 
individual  was  palpably  pleased  at  the  situa- 
tion in  which  he  was  publicly  figuring. 

The  man  was  nodding  affirmatively  over 
and  over;  the  judge  dropped  a  coin  into 
his  palm  and  shook  his  hand  in  parting  ;  the 
man  disappeared  into  the  saloon,  and  the 
judge,  with  springy  step,  joined  Spurlock. 

How  are  you,  Ogden,  my  boy?"  he 
said  in  his  beaming  way,  linking  his  arm  in 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  25 

that  of  Spurlock.  "  I  was  just  thinking  of 
you,"  he  continued,  as  they  walked  up  the 
street.  "  Dolliver  was  asking  me  about  you 
only  this  morning.  The  boys  have  taken 
up  the  idea  that  you  would  be  a  good  man 
to  send  to  the  Legislature  from  the  county. 
Stop,  now  ;  don't  try  to  laugh  me  out  of 
court,  and  don't  say  anything  until  you 
have  thought  it  over.  I  know  it  is  not  con- 
sidered much  of  an  honor  to  go  to  the  Leg- 
islature nowadays,  but  there'll  be  a  fine 
chance  there  for  a  good  man — for  a  young 
man  like  you,  with  a  career  to  make.  You 
would  take  the  lead  of  our  delegation  at 
once.  Between  you  and  me,  you  know," 
dropping  his  voice,  "  it's  a  pretty  mangy 
lot  that  the  city  of  Louisville  sends  to 
Frankfort,  and  there's  a  great  opportunity 
for  a  man  of — of  character  and  endowments, 
like  yourself.  Weigh  the  matter  well,  weigh 
it  well,  before  you  decline.  You  will  have 
my  influence  and  assistance,  of  course. 
Dolliver  will  see  that  you  get  the  nomina- 
tion without  any  trouble,  and  a  nomination 
means  an  election.  Come  in  and  drink  a 
phosphate,  and  we'll  talk  it  over." 

But  the  vicinity  of  a  soda  fountain  on  a 
warm  day  was  no  place  for  such  a  confer- 


26  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

ence.  The  judge  was  soon  the  bowing  and 
radiant  centre  of  a  group  of  women,  and 
Spurlock,  promising  to  discuss  the  question 
some  other  time,  made  his  escape. 

There  seemed  less  to  laugh  at  in  Majen- 
die's  suggestion  the  more  Spurlock  thought 
of  it.     The  State's  need  of  a  better  class  of 
men  in  the    Legislature  was    undoubtedly 
great ;  and  if  he  ever  intended  to  shake  off  his 
old  habits  and  begin  life  in  earnest,  a  term 
m  the  House  of  Representatives  might  be  a 
good  start.     That  was  the  view  he  was  dis- 
posed to  take  of  the  matter  when,  two  days 
later,  sitting  under  the  trees  at  Airdrie  with 
a  law  book  before  him,  he  saw  Dolliver  and 
Tot  Waugh  approaching  in  a  buggy. 

Dolliver  was  a  captain  among   the  pol- 
iticians,  little  and  big,   of   Louisville  and 
even  Kentucky,  the  little  ones  acknowledg- 
ing his  leadership  because  they  knew  and 
admired  his  power,   the  big   ones   because 
they  knew  and  feared  it ;  both  classes  be- 
cause they  sought  to    profit  by  it.     With 
him  the  game  of  politics    was    a  passion. 
He  played  it  as  a  thoroughgoing  gamester 
-for  the  love  of  it  and  for  its  spoils  rather 
than  for  personal  advancement.     He  sought 
no  office  himself,    but  he  was  happy  only 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  27 

when  working  night  and  day  to  put  his  men 
into  office  and  keep  all  others  out.  He  was 
especially  strong  in  the  lower  wards  of 
Louisville,  and  with  the  "machine"  ele- 
ment generally.  Once  or  twice  there  had 
been  a  temporarily  successful  revolt  in  his 
own  party  against  him,  but  in  a  short  time 
it  would  be  found  that  the  new  "organiza- 
tion ' '  was  as  completely  under  the  control 
of  Dolliver  as  the  one  it  had  supplanted. 
' '  Reformers  ' '  fought  him  desperately  one 
year  and  courted  his  alliance  the  next.  He 
had  a  good  income  from  his  saloons  and  his 
"books"  on  the  races.  He  was  a  little 
man,  with  mild,  sleepy  eyes.  His  face,  with 
its  attenuated  skin  and  scant  beard,  was  sug- 
gestive of  a  squab ;  his  nose  was  suggestive 
of  a  hawk.  He  usually  stood  around  or 
walked  around  with  his  hands  clasped  be- 
hind him.  He  never  seemed  to  be  in  a 
hurry ;  and  yet  he  seemed  to  be  everywhere 
that  a  political  consultation  was  to  be  made, 
a  direction  given,  or  a  report  received. 

Tot  Waugh  regarded  Dolliver  as  one  of  the 
three  greatest  living  men,  the  other  two  be- 
ing Taral,  the  jockey,  and  Ogden  Spurlock. 
As  a  lad  Tot  had  been  Spurlock's  playmate 
and  vassal.  The  son  of  a  stable-hand,  his  boy- 


"  IF  I  WERE  A  MAN  " 

hood  had  been  spent  at  Airdrie,  his  one  am- 
bition having  been  to  become  a  jockey,  and 
to  one  grief  being  that  he  had  grown  so  fast 
and  so  heavy  that  he  had  been  compelled  to 
abandon  forever  all  hope  of  the  career  he 
craved.     With  this  blight  upon  him,  he  had 
wandered  off  to  town  and  drifted  into  a  job 
i   a  pool-room.     Naturally,   he  had  been 
drawn  into  municipal  politics,  for  which  he 
had  shown  such  aptitude  that  he  was  now 
a  member  of  the  City  Council   from    the 
Thirteenth  Ward.     He  had  been  attracted 
Dolhver,  first,  because  of  Dolliver's  envied 
light  weight,  and  then  because  of  Dolliver's 
prowess  as  a  -boss."     Dolliver  had  found 
him  useful  in  the  Thirteenth  Ward,  and  had 
made  him  the  manager  of  some  of  his  busi- 
ess   enterprises.     In   appearance   Tot   was 
stocky,  with  a  long  trunk,  and  with  legs  so  dis- 
proportionately short  that  he  always  seemed 
*  m  a  mincing  hurry,  however  slow  was 
his  gait      He  had  the  arms  of  a  bear  and 
the  head  of  a  bull-dog,  with  a  face  as  good- 
humored  as  it  was  ugly,  and  a  voice  which, 
hough  loud  and  rough,  was  boyishly  fresh 
and  buoyant. 

Spurlock  went  forward  to  meet  the  two  as 
they  left  the  buggy. 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  29 

"Ah,  there,  Ogden  !  how' re  they  corn- 
in'  ?"  There  was  nothing  intentionally  flip- 
pant in  Tot  Waugh's  greeting.  On  the 
contrary,  his  manner  to  Spurlock  was  one  of 
hearty  deference  and  proud  proprietorship. 
"  Mr.  Dolliver,  this  is  my  friend,  Mr.  Spur- 
lock  ;  Ogden,  this  is  my  friend,  Mr.  Dolli- 
ver," and  Tot  swung  his  hand  with  a  lateral 
and  backward  sweep  that  was  adequate  if  not 
graceful. 

Spurlock  and  Dolliver  shook  hands,  and 
Tot  added:  "Now  come  over  here,  Mr. 
Dolliver,  and  I'll  show  you  somethin'  that's 
worth  comin'  a  thousand  miles  to  see."  He 
led  the  way  to  a  corner  of  the  lawn  marked 
by  a  stone  slab  over  the  grave  of  Airdrie. 
Tot  stood  before  it  in  the  attitude  he  usually 
assumed  when  he  meant  to  be  thoughtful  or 
dignified,  his  hands  in  his  pockets  and  his 
short  legs  spread  wide.  "  There,  Mr.  Dol- 
liver," he  said,  with  unaffected  earnestness, 
"is  the  grandest  filly  that  ever  looked 
through  a  bridle.  But  I  don't  reckon  I  can 
tell  you  anything  about  Airdrie,  even  if  I 
was  raised  with  her." 

Dolliver  was  not  a  talkative  man,  but  he 
related  a  reminiscence  of  Airdrie's  regnancy, 
and  then  said,  with  characteristic  directness  : 


30  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

"  Mr.  Spurlock,  we  have  drove  out  to  ask 
you  to  become  a  candidate  for  the  House  of 
Representatives  from  the  county.  We  are 
anxious  for  you  to  do  so.  I  have  talked  to 
a  majority  of  the  committee,  and  they  have 
authorized  me  to  feel  you  on  the  subject, 
and  to  tell  you  that  they  hope,  for  the  good 
of  the  party  and  the  district,  you  will  ac- 
cept." 

Tot  Waugh  was  grinning  happily  and, 
standing  on  one  leg,  was  nervously  kicking 
one  heel  with  the  other — a  way  he  had  when 
he  was  mildly  excited. 

"Judge  Majendie  told  me  you  were 
thinking  of  me,"  Spurlock  replied,  "and  I 
will  let  you  know  my  decision  before  the 
week  is  out." 

"We  want  to  bring  out  good  men  this 
year,  Mr.  Spurlock,"  Dolliver  assured  him. 
"It  ain't  always  been  possible  to  bring  out 
the  best  men,  and  the  party  has  suffered. 
You  don't  want  to  have  no  doubt  about  your 
nomination  or  election.  Just  let  us  put  your 
name  on  the  ticket,  and  the  rest  will  be 
easy." 

'  There  is  one  point  I  should  like  to  be 
certain  about,"  Spurlock  said,  looking  at 
Dolliver  steadily.  « If  I  go  to  Frankfort,  I 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  31 

shall  not  consider  myself  under  any  obliga- 
tion in  any  quarter,  except  to  do  what  I 
think  is  right  and  best." 

Dolliver's  bluish  skin  had  a  fleeting  touch 
of  pink,  and  there  was  a  smile  in  his  eyes  as 
he  answered,  with  a  slight  increase  of  ani- 
mation, "Of  course,  Mr.  Spurlock.  That 
is  why  we  want  you  on  the  ticket.  We 
picked  you  out  because  we  knowed  you  was 
that  sort  of  a  man." 

They  talked  it  over  for  a  few  minutes 
longer,  and  then  Dolliver,  feeling  sure  that 
Spurlock  would  consent,  left  in  good  spirits. 
"Say,  Ogden,"  Tot  Waugh  called  to  him 
as  they  drove  off,  "  you  stick  to  Mr.  Dolli- 
ver. With  him  for  you  and  me  for  you,  say, 
Airdrie  herself  couldn't  beat  you." 

Several  days  later  Spurlock,  returning 
from  Louisville,  saw  Innis  Majendie  in  her 
yard  among  the  flowers,  and  went  in  to  ask 
one  for  his  button -hole. 

"I  will  tell  you  something  that  may 
amuse  you,  if  you  will  give  me  a  carnation," 
he  said.  "  I  am  a  candidate  for  the  Legis- 
lature." 

"  You  !  Are  you  ?  ' '  she  cried,  brightly ; 
and  then,  with  that  arch  poise  and  quick 
step  which  he  had  not  seen  in  her  since  that 


3 2  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

night  when  she  came  through  the  window  to 
greet  him   on  the  veranda,  she  ran  to  him 
and  took  his  hand.     «  Why,  I'll  give  you  a 
dozen  carnations !     I  think  it  will  be  fine  !  " 
"  So  do  I,  Spurlock."     It  was  John  Hil- 
born,  emerging,  with  his  hands  full  of  flowers, 
from  a  clump  of  rose-bushes,  where  Spurlock 
had    not   noticed    him    before.      "There's 
nothing  we  need  as  much  as  we  need  good 
men  in  politics.     I  hope  I  can  be  of  some 
real  service  to  you  in  the  campaign." 


Ill 


Six  weeks  later  the  election  came  on. 
Spur  lock  made  a  thorough  ''campaign,"  not 
so  much  because  he  thought  it  necessary  to 
his  success  at  the  polls,  as  for  the  purpose  of 
becoming  acquainted  with  his  district  and 
qualifying  himself  to  act  as  its  representative 
in  fact  as  well  as  in  name.  Dolliver  and  the 
party  ' '  workers ' '  had  assured  him  that  he  had 
a  "walkover,"  and  seemed  to  be  satisfied  with 
the  part  he  had  played  when  he  paid  the  as- 
sessments made  upon  him  for  "the  campaign 
fund."  But  the  result  was  a  great  surprise 
for  Dolliver  and  the  workers ;  for  not  only 
was  Spurlock's  majority  very  small,  but  for 
the  first  time  in  the  State  a  Republican  Gov- 
ernor was  elected,  and  the  Republicans,  in- 
stead of  having,  as  before,  a  fifth  or  a  fourth 
of  the  members  of  the  Legislature,  now  had 
sixty-eight,  within  one  of  half  the  entire 
membership  of  that  body. 

The  vote  was  so  close  that  it  was  several 
days  after  the  election  before  it  was  known 
33 


34  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

whether  the  Legislature  would  be  controlled 
by  the  Republicans  or  the  Democrats;  but 
when  the  returns  were  all  in  they  showed 
that,  while  the  Democrats  had  a  majority  of 
the  Senate  and  the  Republicans  a  majority 
of  the  House  of  Representatives,  the  two 
branches  on  joint  ballot  would  stand :  Dem- 
ocrats, 68  ;  Republicans,  68  ;  Populists,  2. 
The  situation  thus  presented  was  unprece- 
dented in  the  State ;  for  not  only  had  the 
Republicans  never  before  had  a  majority  of 
either  branch  of  the  Legislature,  but  neither 
the  Republicans  nor  the  Democrats  had  now, 
without  the  aid  of  the  two  Populists,  a  ma- 
jority on  joint  ballot. 

This  at  once  made  the  Kentucky  Legislat- 
ure the  centre  of  political  interest,  both  in  the 
State  and  the  Nation,  for  to  this  Legislature 
fell  the  election  of  a  United  States  Senator ; 
and  the  United  States  Senate  was  so  evenly 
divided  between  the  two  great  parties  that 
both  deemed  it  of  vital  importance  to  secure 
the  new  Senator  from  Kentucky.  Hence, 
although  the  Legislature  would  not  meet  for 
two  months  yet,  the  contest  over  the  Sena- 
torship  began  earnestly  at  once.  It  was  pat- 
ent that,  with  all  the  members  voting,  neither 
the  Republicans  nor  the  Democrats  would  be 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  35 

able  to  elect  the  Senator  without  the  help  of 
the  two  Populists,  and  it  was  confidently  as- 
sumed that  this  help  would  eventually  be 
given  to  one  side  or  the  other.  These  two 
holders  of  "the  balance  of  power"  were, 
therefore,  assiduously  plied  by  both  parties 
with  all  the  arts  applicable  to  such  an  emer- 
gency. In  the  meantime,  candidates  for  the 
Democratic  and  Republican  caucus  nomina- 
tions were  active,  Spurlock's  experience  be- 
ing that  Major  Golladay  and  his  friends 
were  especially  so.  Golladay  had  long  been 
working  for  the  office.  It  was  believed  gen- 
erally that  he  would  easily  obtain  the  Dem- 
ocratic nomination,  and  that  the  two  Popu- 
lists in  the  Legislature  were  favorably  inclined 
to  him.  To  the  overtures  of  the  major, 
however,  Spurlock  frankly  replied  that  he 
could  not  vote  for  his  nomination  in  caucus. 
In  Spurlock's  opinion,  Golladay's  views  on 
the  most  important  question  then  before  the 
country  were  radically  wrong  and  vicious. 
Golladay  had  "stumped"  the  State  for  a 
year  in  agitation  of  those  views,  and  sought 
election  for  the  avowed  purpose  of  embodying 
them  in  legislation.  He  believed  he  had  played 
the  winning  card,  and,  so  far  as  his  own 
party  was  concerned,  it  looked  as  if  he  had. 


36  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

Spurlock,  although  he  had  not  thus  com- 
mitted himself,  was  classed  as  one  of  Judge 
Majendie's  supporters  for  the  Senate.  Ma- 
jendie  had  announced  his  candidacy  shortly 
after  Spurlock  had  agreed  to  stand  for  the 
Legislature ;  and  so  dexterous  was  the  judge 
in  such  emprise  that,  although  it  was  not 
thought  he  had  any  chance  to  get  the  nom- 
ination, his  strength  in  the  caucus  was  ranked 
as  second  to  that  of  Golladay. 

Majendie  had  never  directly  asked  Spur- 
lock to  vote  for  him,  but  it  was  apparent 
from  the  judge's  easy  and  genial  air  of  pro- 
prietorship that  he  did  not  question  Spur- 
lock's  fealty.  Besides,  Spurlock  was  the 
judge's  neighbor;  the  judge  had  been  in- 
strumental in  "bringing  him  out;  "  to  say 
nothing  of  the  fact  that  Spurlock  was  counted 
one  of  the  Louisville  delegation,  all  of  whom 
were  regarded  as  the  judge's  stanch  par- 
tisans. 

"Tot,"  asked  Spurlock  of  Tot  Waugh 
soon  after  Majendie  came  out  for  the  Senate, 
"  why  was  it  that  Dolliver  pitched  upon  me 
to  make  this  race?  " 

"Didn't  you  know?  Why,  Judge  Ma- 
jendie put  him  on  to  you.  But  say,  there's 
two  crackajacks,  ain't  they?  When  Judge 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  37 

Majendie  and  Sam  Dolliver  pull  together, 
how  can  they  beat  'em  ?  " 

Spurlock  smiled.  He  knew  Majendie,  and 
he  knew  now  why  that  far-seeing  politician 
had  halted  him  that  day  on  Jefferson  Street. 

Tot  Waugh  himself  was  one  of  Majendie's 
most  vociferous  advocates,  Tot  having  been 
elected  a  colleague  of  Spurlock  in  the  Leg- 
islature, as  Dolliver  had  decided  that  Tot 
was  one  of  the  "good  men"  who  should 
represent  Louisville  in  that  body.  Tot's 
honors  sat  proudly  upon  him.  He  shaved 
twice  a  week  now  instead  of  on  Saturday 
nights,  as  before;  and  not  only  did  he  begin 
wearing  neckties  regularly,  but  a  diamond 
pin  glittered  thereon.  It  was  no  small  thing 
to  rise  from  a  City  Councilman  to  a  State 
Representative ;  it  was  no  small  thing  to 
rise  with  the  confidence  and  co-operation  of 
such  a  man  as  Sam  Dolliver ;  it  was  no  small 
thing  to  rise  step  by  step  with  such  a  man  as 
Ogden  Spurlock.  Certainly  it  was  no  small 
thing  to  read  one's  name  in  the  papers  as 
"the  Hon.  Tottenham  Waugh."  There 
was  still  something  in  life,  even  if  so  much 
had  gone  out  of  it  with  the  dissipation  of 
his  youthful  aspirations  to  become  the  com- 
peer of  Taral,  the  jockey. 


38  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

The  Legislature  convened  the  first  week 
in  January.  Balloting  for  United  States 
Senator  would  begin  a  fortnight  later.  In 
the  interval  Frankfort  was  a  storm-centre. 
All  the  candidates  for  the  Federal  Senator- 
ship  were  promptly  on  the  ground,  each  with 
his  following  of  friends  and  workers,  every 
one  of  whom  was  consulting,  counselling, 
pleading,  manoeuvring,  dickering  night  and 
day  to  gain  some  advantage  in  the  game 
that  all  were  trying  to  win. 

Largest  and  most  energetic  of  all  was  the 
retinue  of  Golladay.  In  it  were,  first,  his 
personal  friends,  of  whom  his  jovial  nature 
had  won  him  many — hearty,  noisy,  positive 
fellows,  with  a  keen  appreciation  of  a  good 
joke  and  a  good  julep,  the  last  one  of  them 
enthusiastic  for  "  Dan,"  as  they  affection- 
ately called  Golladay,  brooking  no  doubt  of 
his  election  to  the  Senate  and  willing  to 
make  any  sacrifice  to  insure  it.  With  these 
were  most  of  the  "  politicians  "  in  the  party, 
men  guided  alone  by  their  desire  to  further 
their  own  interests,  and  who,  ever  equal  to 
accepting  or  rejecting  any  principle  or  policy 
that  might  serve  them  for  a  moment,  and  of 
acknowledging  any  leader  whose  star  seemed 
to  be  in  the  ascendant,  had  flocked  to  Golla- 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  39 

day  because,  believing  he  would  win,  they 
wanted  to  be  "  on  the  winning  side."  Then 
there  were  "  the  boys  " — the  old  boys  from 
'''way  back,"  who,  whatever  their  knowl- 
edge or  ignorance  of  party  tenets,  thought 
everything  was  right  that  bore  the  party 
name  and  everything  wrong  that  bore  any 
other.  These  and  their  sons,  the  younger 
"  boys,"  who  held  the  same  faith  because 
they  had  been  "raised"  that  way,  were 
boisterous  for  Dan  Golladay  and  intolerant 
of  all  opposition.  To  them  Golladay  had 
endeared  himself  as  a  great  party  leader  by 
his  accomplishments  as  a  "  mixer ; "  by  the 
gallant  swash  of  his  manner ;  by  the  sono- 
rous sweep  of  his  oratory,  with  all  the  splen- 
dor of  its  sentiment,  the  audacity  of  its  facts, 
and  the  magnificence  with  which  he  glorified 
his  own  party  and  gave  the  other  fellows 
"hell." 

And  yet  against  all  these  odds  one  man 
had  made  such  headway  that  there  were  those 
who  believed  he  had  a  "  fighting  chance  "  to 
defeat  Golladay  in  the  caucus.  Besides  Gol- 
laday there  were  three  or  four  candidates  for 
the  Democratic  nomination,  but  only  Judge 
Majendie  was  thought  to  be  strong  enough 
to  give  the  result  any  element  of  doubt.  Ma- 


4°  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

jendie  had  not  warned  Golladay's  forces  by 
making  a  campaign  of  oratory;  he  had  not, 
as  Tot  Waugh  expressed  it,  hunted  ducks 
with  a  brass  band.     But  he  had  covered  so 
much  ground  so  unostentatiously;  he  had  set 
to  work  so  many  wheels  within  wheels;  and, 
above  all,  he  had  such  efficient  assistance,  or 
rather  management,  from  Dolliver,  that  by 
the  time   the   Legislature  met,   and  before 
Golladay  suspected  that  he  would  have  any 
serious  opposition,   there  was  a  formidable 
Majendie   following   to    be  reckoned  with. 
Majendie  had  made  no  move  which  Dolliver 
had  not  either  planned  or  sanctioned.   Dolliver 
had  taken  the  whole  work  of ' '  organization ' ' 
into  his  own  hands.     On  the  opening  of  the 
Legislature  he  had  accompanied  Majendie  to 
Frankfort,  and  made  that  point  the  base  of 
his  operations.     He  had  an  effective  engine 
of  offence  and  defence  in  the  Louisville  dele- 
gation, of  which  he  was  generally  presumed 
to  be  in  every  sense  the  "engineer."     He 
was   credited  with    having    nominated  and 
elected  that  delegation,  and  with  the  power 
to  throw  it  solidly  for  any  man  or  measure 
he  chose.     This  was  no  weak  vantage,  and 
Dolliver  used  it  shrewdly,  agreeing  to  deliver 
the  Louisville  vote  for  or  against  any  pro- 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  41 

posed  legislation  or  any  office  to  be  filled  by 
the  Legislature,  in  return  for  votes  for  Ma- 
jendie,  wherever  such  a  trade  could  be  made. 

Spurlock  was  included  in  the  "Louisville 
delegation,"  and  it  was  not  long  before  he 
became  aware  that  his  vote  was  thus  being 
bargained  away  in  the  interest  of  Majendie. 
He  promptly  went  in  quest  of  the  judge,  and, 
while  hunting  him,  was  found  by  him  and 
Dolliver. 

"We've  been  looking  for  you,  Ogden," 
Majendie  said,  taking  his  arm  and  walking 
off  with  him,  Dolliver  keeping  step  on  the 
other  side.  "  There's  another  vote  for  us  in 
sight,"  the  judge  explained,  in  his  radiant 
confidence.  ' '  You  know  Palgrave,  of  Kemp- 
land  County,  wants  to  go  to  Congress  from 
the  Fifteenth  District,  and  he  wants  to  make 
the  majority  safe  by  gerrymandering  the  dis- 
trict. He  is  willing  to  vote  for  me  if  our 
delegation  will  vote  for  his  gerrymander,  but 
he  says  he  has  sounded  you  on  the  subject  and 
that  you  balked." 

"  I  did  balk,"  Spurlock  replied,  in  a  tone 
that  was  not  to  be  mistaken.  "  I  told  Pal- 
grave  that  on  no  account  would  I  vote  for 
his  scheme;  that  it  was  grossly  unfair,  and 
that  I  would  do  what  I  could  to  defeat  it." 


42  "IF  I  WERE   A  MAN" 

Dolliver,  who  was  walking,  as  was  his  habit, 
with  his  eyes  earthward,  suddenly  raised  and 
fixed  them  on  Spurlock's  face.  Majendie's 
response  to  Spurlock  was  at  first  a  mild  laugh. 
"You'll  soon  get  over  that  sort  of  thing, 
Ogden,"  he  said.  "This  is  your  first  term,  but 
it  won't  be  long  before  you'll  understand  that 
Palgrave's  gerrymander  is  politics;  and  poli- 
tics, you  know,  are  what  we  are  engaged  in." 

"That's  the  game,"  Dolliver  observed. 
"It's  fair  and  square  to  take  all  the  tricks 
when  you  hold  the  cards.  When  the  cards 
run  to  the  other  side,  the  other  side' 11  do 
the  same. ' ' 

"With  me,  gentlemen,  the  point  cannot 
be  argued,"  Spurlock  answered,  in  perfect 
good  humor.  "  I  shall  never  help  Palgrave 
with  his  gerrymander." 

"  But,  Ogden  " — the  judge's  reproach  was 
affectionately  paternal — "  you  forget,  my 
boy,  that  it  means  a  vote  for  us." 

"  Judge  " — Spurlock  paused,  standing  still 
for  a  moment  in  the  earnestness  of  his  words 
— "  it  is  evident  that  you  and  I  take  very  dif- 
ferent views  of  this;  and  I  don't  know  that 
you  will  believe  me,  but  I  would  not  vote 
for  Palgrave's  bill  if  by  so  doing  I  could 
make  myself  United  States  Senator." 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  43 

It  was  not  often  that  Spurlock  had  heard 
Dolliver  laugh ;  and  Dolliver  laughed  now, 
with  soft  gusto.  But  the  judge's  face  was 
grave,  and  his  voice  was  grieved  as  he  re- 
plied, sweetly : 

"I  am  very  sorry;  very  sorry,  indeed." 

They  continued  their  walk  for  a  few  steps 
in  silence ;  then  the  judge  repeated  : 

"  Very  sorry,  indeed." 

"Yes,  we  certainly  had  banked  on  you, 
Mr.  Spurlock,"  Dolliver  said,  with  a  touch 
of  reproof  in  his  equably  pitched  words. 
"  We  ain't  never  had  the  slightest  idea  that 
you  would  fail  us  at  any  time,  and  specially 
in  such  a  chance  as  this." 

"  Judge  " — Spurlock  hesitated,  then  spoke 
with  an  effort  to  make  his  words  the  gentler 
because  of  their  firmness — "  I  was  on  my 
way  to  see  you  when  we  met.  For  some 
time  I  have  been  aware  that  you  assumed 
I  would  vote  for  you,  although  nothing  has 
passed  between  us  to  that  effect.  But  I 
think  it  only  fair  to  you,  as  well  as  to  my- 
self, that  you  should  know  I  have  not  yet 
decided  for  whom  I  shall  vote. ' ' 

"  Why,  Spurlock,  you  do  astonish  me  !  " 
Majendie's  face  flushed  with  something  more 
than  astonishment,  though  beyond  a  momen- 


44  "  IF  I  WERE  A  MAN  " 

tary  hardening  of  his  soft  eyes  and  voice  he 
did  not  betray  his  emotion. 

"  I  can't  believe  such  a  thing  !    Certainly 

not  of  Ogden  Spurlock  !  "  Dolliver  scouted. 

"It — it   never   would    have   occurred   to 

me  !  "  Majendie  declared.    "  Why,  I  should 

not  have  felt  surer  of  my  own  son." 

"  Yes,   we  always  headed    our  list  with 
your  name,"  Dolliver  asserted. 

Spurlock  colored  a  little  at  Majendie's  last 
remark.    It  might  have  meant  nothing,  and, 
again,  it  might  have  meant  more  than  Dol- 
liver would   understand.    Knowing  Majen- 
die, Spurlock  knew  there  was  such  a  possi- 
bility ;  and  he  felt  resentful,  as  he  had  felt 
before,  that  such  a  girl  as  Innis  Majendie 
should  be  the  daughter   of  this  man.    «  I 
am  sorry,  Judge,  to  disappoint  your  expec- 
tations," Spurlock  replied  ;  "  and  I  am  sorry 
that  you  should  think  personal  preferences 
should  be  sufficient  to  govern  one  in  voting 
for  a  public  official  like   that    of  United 
States  Senator.     But  if  my  own  father  were 
in  your  place,  Judge,  I  could  not  vote  for 
him  without  knowing  more  of  his   public 
views  than  I  know  of  yours. ' ' 

"  You  don't  mean  to  say  that  you  will 
vote  for  Golladay  ?  "  Dolliver  asked. 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  45 

"  On  the  contrary,  I  mean  to  say  I  shall 
not  vote  for  Golladay ;  and  I  am  able  to  say 
that  because  Golladay  has  left  nobody  in 
doubt  as  to  where  he  stands.  If  Judge  Ma- 
jendie  will  be  as  frank  as  Major  Golladay, 
I  can  then  say  whether  I  shall  vote  for  Judge 
Majendie  !  " 

"My  dear  Ogden  " — the  judge's  smile 
had  returned  to  his  face  and  the  unction  to 
his  voice — "  you  really  do  amuse  me  in  the 
enthusiasm  of  your  political  inexperience. 
I  am  trying  to  beat  Golladay,  not  by  play- 
ing his  own  game,  but  a  better.  He  has 
repelled  such  votes  as  yours ;  I  want  all  the 
votes  I  can  get.  I  have  carefully  avoided 
going  to  extremes.  Upon  this  unfortunate 
question,  which  is  so  disturbing  and  threaten- 
ing to  divide  our  party,  I  have  steered  a  con- 
servative course,  aiming  to  alienate  none  and 
conciliate  all.  I  am  in  politics  to  win,  not 
to  make  a  quixotic  martyr  of  myself.  I 
want  to  get  to  the  Senate,  and  after  I  am 
there  surely  you  have  enough  confidence  in 
me  to  believe  I  will  do  what  is  right." 

"  I  am  not  questioning  your  intention  to 
do  what  is  right,  Judge  ;  I  simply  ask  to  be 
told  what  you  think  is  right." 

"  For  one  thing,   I   think  it  is  right  to 


46  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

avert  a  fatal  division  in  the  Democratic 
party,  to  make  sure  of  the  election  of  a 
Democrat,  and  to  save  Kentucky  and  the 
South  the  disgrace  of  a  Republican  Senator 
from  this  proud  Commonwealth.  That  I 
hold  to  be  the  first  duty  before  us. ' ' 

"  I  know  you  have  made  your  canvass  on 
that  platform,  but  it  seems  to  me  that  it  is 
more  important  just  now  that  our  next  Sen- 
ator shall  vote  right  on  the  issues  before  the 
country  than  that  he  shall  be  called  by  the 
name  of  one  party  or  another.  Before  you 
announced  for  the  Senate,  Judge,  it  was  my 
understanding  that  you  were  opposed  to  the 
theories  which  Golladay  is  pressing ;  but 
since  I  have  reached  Frankfort  I  have  heard 
from  those  who  agree  with  Golladay  that  you 
are  as  '  orthodox  '  as  he  on  those  theories, 
while  I  have  heard  just  as  positively  from 
the  anti-Golladay  men  that  you  are  as  '  or- 
thodox '  as  anybody  against  those  theories. 
You  see,  Judge,  as  I  have  had  no  informa- 
tion from  yourself,  I  am  somewhat  in  the 
dark,  or  rather  you  are. ' ' 

Majendie's  laugh  was  loud  and  genuine. 
"  You  flatter  me,  Ogden !  "  he  cried ;  "  you 
do,  indeed  !  I'm  delighted  to  hear  you  say 
I  have  been  so  successful  in  holding  the  boys 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  47 

in  line.  If  I  can  keep  that  up,  I  shall  unite 
the  party  and  win  yet." 

"Then  I  am  to  understand,"  Spurlock 
asked,  "  that  you  will  make  no  declaration 
of  your  views  before  the  election  ?  ' ' 

"Look  here,  Ogden,"  Majendie answered, 
seriously,  "  suppose  I  were  to  tell  you  that 
I  believe  as  you  do  on  these  matters,  would 
that  satisfy  you  ? ' ' 

"  Would  you  be  willing  to  tell  the  public 
that,  Judge,  so  that  the  people  who  sent  me 
here  may  know  for  what  I  am  voting  if  I 
vote  for  you  ?  ' ' 

"  There  you  go  up  into  the  air  again, 
Ogden  !  You  will  forget  the  practical  side 
of  politics.  If  I  make  any  such  public  dec- 
laration as  that,  how  am  I  to  get  any  of  the 
Golladay  crowd  ;  and  if  I  do  not  get  that, 
how  am  I  to  be  elected  to  the  Senate,  where 
I  can  work  and  vote  for  the  principles  in 
which  you  and  I  believe?  " 

Spurlock  was  silent  for  several  steps.  Then 
he  said,  in  a  tone  of  finality,  "Well,  Judge, 
I  am  inexperienced  in  politics,  as  you  say, 
but  this  seems  a  very  simple  matter  to  me ; 
and  I  hope  you  will  feel  that  it  is  impersonal 
considerations  which  actuate  me,  when  I 
frankly  tell  you  that  until  you  make  some 


48  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

public  declaration  on  public  questions  I 
cannot  promise  to  vote  for  you." 

There  was  a  quick  compression  of  Majen- 
die's  lips,  and  he  clenched  his  fist  hanging 
by  his  side ;  but  he  held  himself  under  good 
control,  and  little  evidence  of  agitation  was 
notable  as  he  replied  : 

"  Of  course,  Ogden,  of  course  ;  I  under- 
stand all  that.  And  I'm  confident  you'll 
see  things  in  a  clearer  light  after  a  while,  and 
that  I'll  get  your  vote  yet.  Anyway,"  and 
he  unclenched  his  fist  and  offered  the  hand 
to  Spurlock,  ''we'll  continue  to  befriends, 
whatever  happens." 

"Now,  here,  Mr.  Spurlock" — Dolliver 
addressed  him  with  more  than  usual  spirit — 
"  you  know  I've  took  a  good  deal  of  interest 
in  you,  and  I'd  hate  to  see  you  copper  your 
prospects  right  at  the  start ;  but  I'm  afraid 
you  haven't  considered  all  the  consequences 
of  such  a  play  as  cutting  loose  from  all  your 
friends  and  the  party  organization  in  your 
own  county.  You  take  a  day  or  two  to  think 
over  the  matter." 

"Thank  you,  Mr.  Dolliver,"  Spurlock 
replied.  "I  should  hate  to  lose  any  real 
friends,  but  I  cannot  say  anything  on  this 
subject  different  from  what  I  have  just  said 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  49 

to  you  and  Judge  Majendie.  And,  by  the 
way,  Mr.  Dolliver,  I  have  heard  of  two  in- 
stances in  which  you  have  pledged  my  vote 
with  that  of  the  Louisville  delegation  for 
measures  now  before  the  Legislature.  That's 
a  mistake  of  yours,  Mr.  Dolliver.  It  is  not 
safe  for  one  to  predict  how  I  am  going  to 
vote  on  any  proposition  until  I  know  myself; 
and  as  I  have  not  looked  into  the  merits  of 
either  of  these  two  bills,  I  am  not  able  to  say 
now  whether  I  shall  vote  for  or  against 
them. ' '  He  had  stopped  on  the  curbing  and 
had  taken  out  his  watch.  "  Excuse  me, 
gentlemen  ;  I  have  an  appointment  here." 

He  crossed  the  street.  Majendie  and 
Dolliver  stood  where  he  had  left  them,  and 
when  'he  had  disappeared  in  a  law  office  each 
turned  and  fixed  his  eyes  upon  the  other. 

"The  damn  tenderfoot!  "  Dolliver  ex- 
claimed. "How  in  blazes  did  you  fall 
down  so  when  you  had  me  put  him  on  the 
ticket?" 

Majendie's  dark  face  betokened  thoughts 
stronger  than  Dolliver 's  language.  "  We 
must  "play  him  a  little  line,"  the  judge 
growled,  as  they  walked  on;  "we  need  his 
vote,  and  must  have  it." 


rv 

THE  night  of  the  fateful  Democratic  caucus 
had  come.  Both  Golladay  and  Majendie 
were  loudly  claiming  that  they  would  get  the 
nomination,  and  each  seemed  as  confident  as 
he  was  boastful.  It  was  thought,  however, 
that  Majendie  had  cut  into  Golladay's  forces 
somewhat  within  the  week  preceding  the 
caucus.  The  judge  had  been  '  <  smoked  out. ' ' 
He  had  been  driven  to  change  his  tactics, 
and  to  make,  what  he  would  not  consent  to 
make  at  Spurlock's  suggestion,  a  public  dec- 
laration of  his  "  position."  He  had  persist- 
ed in  the  part  of  a  "straddler  "  as  long  as 
his  friends  would  let  him;  but  it  became 
clear  to  them  that  this  was  not  a  Legislature 
in  which  a  "straddler"  could  win.  The 
feeling  on  leading  national  issues  was  so  in- 
tense, that  no  man  whose  record  or  whose 
purpose  relative  to  those  issues  was  equivocal 
could  hope  to  receive  from  a  Democratic 
caucus  the  nomination  for  the  Senate.  The 
great  majority  of  the  Democratic  members 
50 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  51 

held  the  same  view's  that  Golladay  cham- 
pioned ;  and  Majendie  was  forced  to  realize 
that  by  continuing  further  his  non-committal 
policy  he  would  lose  votes  he  had  counted 
on,  instead  of  gaining  votes  from  Golladay. 
There  was  only  one  thing  to  do.  Dolliver 
saw  it,  and  spent  an  entire  night  in  Majen- 
die's  room.  Next  day  the  papers  published 
a  "card"  from  Majendie,  in  which  the 
judge  proclaimed  that,  to  his  surprise,  there 
seemed  to  be  some  uncertainty  as  to  his  atti- 
tude on  the  dominant  questions  of  the  day ; 
that  there  was  no  excuse  for  such  misinfor- 
mation or  misrepresentation ;  that  his  record 
was  an  open  book  ;  that  his  convictions  were 
rock -rooted  and  uncompromising ;  and  that 
they  would  ever  dictate  his  unfaltering  course 
in  the  Senate;  concluding  with  a  "restate- 
ment" of  those  convictions,  which  showed 
them  to  be  all  that  Golladay,  in  his  most 
robust  radicalism,  had  ever  claimed  for  his 
own,  and  which  caused  that  bold  campaigner 
to  gasp  at  the  audacity  of  "  Dolliver's  acro- 
batic puppet." 

It  was  a  transparent  trick ;  but  transpar- 
ent tricks  often  win  in  politics.  This  one 
stayed  the  threatened  desertion  of  some  of 
Majendie' s  adherents,  and  gave  Dolliver  a 


52  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

firmer  base  from  which  to  cast  and  draw  his 
nets  in  Golladay's  waters. 

Yet,  notwithstanding  this,  Majendie  and 
Dolliver  had  not  despaired  of  securing  Spur- 
lock's  vote  in  the  caucus.  They  had  ap- 
pealed to  his  gratitude  for  partiality  shown 
him  and  favors  done  him,  to  his  hopes  of 
future  advancement,  to  his  sense  of  party, 
State  and  "Southern"  pride.  Many  were 
the  influences  brought  to  bear  on  him. 
Majendie  clubs  in  his  district  and  in  Louis- 
ville passed  resolutions  for  his  guidance ; 
a  committee  representing  organized  labor 
waited  on  him  and  urged  him  to  stand  by 
the  "  workingman's  friend;  "  petitions  from 
farmers  were  presented  him,  praying  him  to 
hold  up  the  hands  of  "  the  poor  man's 
friend;"  letters  from  commercial  houses 
were  written  him,  asking  him  not  to  desert 
"the  business  interests'  friend;"  a  round 
robin  drawn  up  on  Symposium  Club  paper 
was  forwarded,  begging  him  to  support  "  the 
friend  of  the  better  elements;  "  the  Daugh- 
ters of  the  Circle  that  is  to  be  Squared  sent 
a  fair  delegation  to  implore  him  to  come 
to  the  help  of  Woman's  friend ;  the  party 
organization,  otherwise  known  as  the  all- 
powerful  "Dolliver  machine,"  was  set  to 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  53 

work  grinding  out  appeals,  protests,  and 
indirect  threats ;  while  Tot  Waugh,  at  first 
incredulous  of  such  folly,  flouted,  then 
blustered,  then  blubbered  his  disapproval. 

"My  stars,  Ogden  !  "  he  cried,  "you 
ain't  goin'  to  go  broke  the  first  out  o'  the 
box  !  You  ain't  goin'  to  go  back  on  the 
boys  and  pull  out  from  Sam  Dolliver ! 
Maybe  I  don't  see  yo'  finish!  Why,  you 
might  as  well  go  jump  off  the  bridge  and 
be  done  with  it  !  You  might  as  well  be  a 
white  man  in  a  cake-walk  all  the  rest  of  yo' 
days!  " 

Nevertheless,  when  the  night  of  the  cau- 
cus came,  it  was  generally  known  that  Spur- 
lock  still  held  out  against  voting  for  Majen- 
die,  Golladay,  or  anyone  who  insisted  on 
committing  the  party  to  the  particular  theo- 
ries on  which  they  had  pitched  their  can- 
vass. Indeed,  as  the  only  Democratic  can- 
didate for  the  nomination  who  had  opposed 
those  theories  had  developed  such  little 
strength  that  he  had  withdrawn,  there  were 
intimations  that  Spurlock  might  not  go  into 
the  caucus  at  all.  Such  intimations,  how- 
ever, were  not  considered  very  seriously ;  for 
most  of  those  who  discussed  them  were  party 
men,  and  in  the  code  of  the  party  man  the 


54  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

crime  of  "bolting"  is  the  rarest,  as  it  is 
the  greatest,  in  politics. 

But  when  the  caucus  had  assembled,  had 
organized,  and  the  chairman  had  made  his 
"  ringing  "  address,  with  Spurlock  nowhere 
in  the  chamber,  the  Majendie  men,  who  had 
hoped  to  the  last  for  his  vote,  were  scowling 
as  they  muttered  his  name ;  while  Tot 
Waugh  sat  low  in  his  chair,  with  his  head 
sunk  between  his  shoulders  and  his  face 
drawn  down,  misery  speaking  in  every  line 
of  posture  and  feature. 

It  was  then,  when  the  chairman  had  just 
resumed  his  seat,  with  the  words,  "  It  is 
now  in  order,  gentlemen — ' '  that  there  was 
a  stir  at  the  door,  caused  by  the  entrance  of 
Spurlock,  which  was  followed  by  a  murmur 
running  through  the  crowd,  a  round  of  hand- 
claps by  Majendie' s  supporters,  and  a  whoop 
from  Tot  Waugh  as  he  jumped  to  his  feet 
and  waved  his  hat  on  high.  Tot's  cheer 
was  taken  up,  though  with  less  spirit,  by 
some  of  the  Majendie  men ;  and  as  it  died 
away  Spurlock  was  standing  in  front  of  the 
chairman  with  his  hand  uplifted  for  recog- 
nition. 

"  Mr.  Chairman,"  he  was  saying,  "  may 
I  ask  to  be  heard  for  a  few  moments  upon  a 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  55 

matter  mainly  personal  and,  therefore,  hardly 
in  order,  except  through  the  indulgence  of 
the  caucus  ?  ' ' 

"Are  you  going  to  abide  by  the  action 
of  the  caucus?"  shouted  one  of  Golladay's 
adherents. 

"Let  him  speak!  "  "Out  with  it!  " 
"  Go  ahead  !  "  came  from  all  parts  of  the 
hall. 

"I  thank  the  caucus,"  Spur  lock  went  on, 
"  for  this  courtesy.  I  have  asked  it  because 
this  is  a  party  caucus,  and  because,  as  what 
I  would  say  concerns  my  party  relations,  I 
would  say  it  here,  as  the  proper  place,  rather 
than  upon  the  floor  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, whose  privileges  I  do  not  expect 
to  claim  on  other  than  the  public  business." 
Then,  with  no  attempt  at  oratory  as  it  was 
understood  by  most  of  his  auditors,  but  with 
straightforward  words  and  calm  earnestness, 
he  explained  why  he  could  not  in  advance 
bind  himself  to  accept  the  nominee  of 
the  caucus.  A  very  great  majority  of  the 
members  of  the  caucus  had  subordinated 
all  other  considerations  to  the  advocacy  of 
certain  propositions  of  national  polity  which 
he  regarded  wrong  in  principle  and  ruinous 
in  effect.  It  was  evident  that  no  man  not 


56  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

pledged  to  those  propositions  could  be  nom- 
inated by  the  caucus ;  no  man  not  so  pledged 
was  now  a  candidate  before  the  caucus  ;  as 
he  could  not  surrender  his  own  convictions, 
the  only  honorable  course  for  him  was  to 
take  no  part  in  the  proceedings  of  the  cau- 
cus. 

He  knew  he  would  be  called  a  bolter ;  but 
he  did  not  think  he  would  be  any  the  less  a 
Democrat.  He  had  been  a  Democrat  ever 
since  he  had  been  able  to  discriminate  be- 
tween political  creeds.  He  was  still  the 
same  sort  of  Democrat  that  he  had  been  al- 
ways. The  friends  of  Major  Golladay  and 
Judge  Majendie  assured  him  that  the  doc- 
trines avowed  by  those  gentlemen  would  be 
formally  affirmed  by  the  next  national  con- 
vention of  the  party.  It  was  his  understand- 
ing, however,  that  until  then  the  authority 
of  the  last  preceding  national  convention 
held.  He  and  his  Democratic  associates  in 
the  Legislature  had  been  elected  upon  a  State 
platform  expressly  reapproving  the  platform 
of  the  last  national  convention,  which  plat- 
form, instead  of  embodying  the  theories  of 
Major  Golladay  and  Judge  Majendie,  had 
not  been  adopted  until  a  proposition  to  incor- 
porate them  in  it  had  been  voted  down  by  the 


"IF  I   WERE  A  MAN"  57 

convention.  How  was  it,  then,  that  his  col- 
leagues pronounced  him  a  bolter  for  standing 
on  the  only  existing  platform  of  his  party,  and 
refusing  to  vote  for  the  principles  which  the 
supreme  party  authority  had  rejected  when 
making  that  platform  ?  But  he  did  not  care 
to  argue  that  point.  If  it  should  come  to 
the  alternative  that  he  must  vote  for  a  policy 
that  he  believed  would  be  disastrous  to  the 
country,  or  be  classified  as  a  bolter,  he 
would  not  hesitate  to  incur  the  classifica- 
tion. 

In  conclusion,  he  was  as  desirous  as  any- 
one to  see  a  Democrat  elected  to  the  Senate ; 
and  he  promised  the  caucus  that  he  would 
gladly  vote  for  its  nominee,  if  it  would  nom- 
inate a  man  who  would  stand  on  the  present 
Democratic  platform,  instead  of  on  a  possible 
future  platform. 

As  Spurlock  spoke,  he  was  listened  to  at 
first  with  quiet  intentness ;  then  with  an  oc- 
casional ejaculation  of  impatience  or  protest ; 
followed  toward  the  last  by  a  groan  here  and 
a  hiss  there ;  and  as  he  finished  and  left  the 
room  there  was  a  fusillade  of  derisive  catcalls 
and  angry  jeers  of  ' '  Bolter  !  "  "  Traitor  !  ' ' 
"  Benedict  Arnold  !  "  "  Go  to  the  Repub- 
licans, where  you  belong!  " 


58  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

Then  it  was  that  Tot  Waugh  sprang  upon 
a  desk  and,  his  arms  thrashing  the  air  and 
his  face  red  and  awry  with  passion,  made  his 
"maiden  speech." 

"You  fellows,  you!"  his  roar  quickly 
silencing  the  hubbub.  "  I  ain't  got  but  one 
thing  to  say  to  you,  and  I'm  goin'  to  say  it 
now!" — notwithstanding  the  vain  raps  of 
the  chairman's  gavel.  "You're  a  nice  lot 
to  be  readin'  Ogden  Spurlock  out  of  the 
party,  you  are  !  I  want  to  say  right  here 
that  I  know  Ogden  Spurlock  from  silk  to 
shoe-leather,  and  I'm  not  goin'  to  hear  him 
run  down.  He's  the  finest  gentleman  in 
Kentucky  and  I  ain't  nobody,  but  that  never 
cut  no  ice  with  him.  We  was  playmates 
together,  and  it  was  share  and  share  alike. 
He's  got  brains,  he's  got  learnin',  he's  got 
grit.  What's  more,  he's  a  square  man,  he's 
a  white  man,  and  what  he  says  I'll  go  broke 
on.  What  he  says  is  right,  goes.  What  he 
says  is  a  Democrat,  goes.  If  he's  a  bolter, 
then  a  bolter's  good  enough  for  me.  I  let 
you  men  know  right  now  that  I  belong  to 
the  same  party  that  Ogden  Spurlock  does, 
and  I'm  goin'  to  vote  the  same  way  he 
does;  and  to  bally  whack  with  you  and  yo' 
cockus !  ' ' 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  59 

He  leaped  from  the  desk  and  plunged  tow- 
ard the  door,  and  before  any  of  Majendie's 
dazed  partisans  could  lay  detaining  hands  on 
him  he  was  out  and  away. 

He  rushed  on  through  the  deserted  streets 
of  the  town,  and  did  not  stop  until  he  had 
reached  his  room  in  the  hotel.  He  quickly 
locked  the  door,  and  began  pacing  the  floor 
of  his  little  cage.  His  face  was  woe-begone, 
his  eyes  were  red  and  moist,  and  there  was  a 
stertorous  sniffle  in  his  breathing.  After  a 
few  turns  of  the  room,  he  paused  at  the  door 
and  laid  his  hand  on  the  knob.  A  moment 
of  hesitation,  then  he  drew  himself  away  and 
crossed  the  room  again,  only  to  wheel  sud- 
denly, hasten  back  to  the  door  and  snatch 
the  key  from  the  lock.  He  held  it  in  his 
hand,  looking  about  as  if  for  some  place  to 
put  it.  Then  he  pressed  the  button  of  the 
call-bell,  and  Jimp,  soon  responding  with  a 
pitcher  of  ice-water,  was  admitted. 

"  That's  what  I  wanted,  Jimp,"  Tot  said, 
seizing  the  pitcher  and  gulping  down  the 
water.  "  Say,  Jimp,  when  do  you  go  off 
watch?  " 

"  At  six  o'clock  in  de  mawnin',  Mr. 
Waugh." 

"  All  right,  Jimp.    Now,  you  take  this  key, 


60  "  IF  I  WERE  A  MAN  " 

lock  my  door  when  you  go  out,  put  the  key 
in  yo'  pocket,  don't  let  nobody  know  you 
got  it,  don't  answer  if  I  ring,  tell  anybody 
that  calls  for  me  that  I'm  not  in  my  room, 
come  back  here  before  you  leave  in  the  morn- 
in'  and  throw  the  key  through  the  transom, 
and  don't  blab  a  word  about  the  whole 
business,  and  I'll  give  you  a  quarter  and  put 
you  on  to  a  dead-sure  thing  at  the  Louisville 
spring  meetin'.  You  see,  I  got  to  git  one 
good  night's  sleep,  and  I  don't  want  nobody 
comin'  in  here  and  nobody  goin'  out  of 
here." 

"All  right,  Mr.  Waugh,"  grinned  Jimp. 
Then,  as  the  negro  went  out  and  locked  the 
door,  Tot  Waugh  dropped  to  a  seat  on  the 
side  of  the  bed,  drew  his  sleeve  across  his 
perspiring  face,  and  fixing  his  eyes  a  little 
wistfully  upon  the  empty  key-hole,  told  him- 
self: 

"  That'll  keep  any  doldrummed  fool  from 
gittin'  out  of  here  before  that  cockus  adjourns, 
anyhow." 

A  few  minutes  later,  when  there  was  a 
pounding  on  the  door,  followed  by  the  rasp- 
ing, excited  voice  of  Dolliver  calling  Tot's 
name  and  demanding  to  know  if  he  was  in, 
Tot,  who  had  gone  to  bed,  shivered  and, 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  61 

holding  his  breath,  drew  his  head  under  the 
blanket. 

He  was  not  to  take  part  in  the  caucus,  and 
for  weeks  he  had  looked  forward  to  the  cau- 
cus as  the  one  great  event  of  his  political 
career. 


NEXT  day  the  three  men  in  Kentucky 
most  talked  about  were  Majendie,  Spurlock, 
and  Waugh.  Majendie,  despite  Spurlock's 
refusal  to  enter  the  caucus,  and  Waugh 's 
abandonment  of  it,  had  finally  defeated 
Golladay  and  won  the  nomination.  The 
credit  for  the  "coup"  which  effected  this 
belonged  to  Dolliver.  The  balloting  had 
gone  on  until  after  midnight.  Golladay  was 
leading  Majendie  three  or  four  votes,  and 
about  a  dozen  votes  were  divided  between 
the  other  two  candidates.  When  a  motion 
to  drop  the  hindmost  candidate  prevailed, 
Lintz,  one  of  Majendie's  men,  rose,  at  a 
signal  from  Dolliver,  and  read  a  paper, 
signed  by  Kane  and  Fossett,  the  two  Popu- 
list members  of  the  Legislature,  binding 
themselves  to  vote  for  the  election  of 
Judge  Majendie  if  he  should  be  nominated. 
This,  as  the  reporters  put  it,  was  the  explo- 
sion of  a  bomb  in  the  Golladay  camp.  Gol- 
laday had  been  confident  that,  if  the  Popu- 
62 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  63 

lists  voted  at  all  with  the  Democrats,  it  would 
be  for  himself.  Indeed,  one  of  the  strongest 
pleas  he  had  made  in  his  own  behalf  was  that 
the  votes  of  Kane  and  Fossett  would  be  nec- 
essary to  elect  a  Senator,  and  that  he  was 
the  only  Democrat  who  could  get  those 
votes.  When,  therefore,  the  agreement  of 
Kane  and  Fossett  to  vote  for  Majendie  was 
read,  the  Golladay  forces  were  thrown  into  a 
panic.  There  were  from  them  jeers  of  deri- 
sion, indignant  clamor  for  the  regular  order, 
and  cries  of  "Fraud!"  and  "Fake!" 
Lintz,  however,  had  only  cast  his  first  bomb. 
He  shouted  that  not  only  were  Messrs.  Kane 
and  Fossett  outside,  ready  to  acknowledge 
their  signatures,  but  that  they  were  willing 
to  come  into  the  caucus,  vote,  and  stand 
by  whatever  nomination  should  be  made. 
That  settled  the  contest.  Kane  and  Fossett 
were  welcomed  into  the  caucus,  and  on  the 
first  ballot  thereafter  Majendie  was  nomi- 
nated. 

Interest  now  centred  on  Spurlock  and  Tot 
Waugh.  With  the  sixty-eight  Democrats  in 
the  Legislature  and  the  two  Populists  voting 
for  Majendie,  he  would  have  the  exact  num- 
ber necessary  to  elect.  There  had  been  sev- 
eral Democratic  absentees  from  the  caucus 


64  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

besides  Spurlock ;  but  none  of  these  had  de- 
clared his  intention  to  withhold  his  vote  from 
the  nominee,  and  there  were  no  fears  that  any 
of  them  would  fail  to  fall  into  line  when  the 
time  came.     But  Spurlock  had  openly  an- 
nounced that  he  would  not  vote  for  Majen- 
die,  and  Tot  Waugh's  secession  had  been 
so  unexpected  and  so  vehement  that  it  had 
left  his  future  course  in  some  doubt,  although 
it  was  generally  believed  that  Dolliver  would 
have  little  trouble  in  bringing  him  back  into 
the  fold.    It  was  generally  believed,  also,  that 
Spurlock' s  vote  would  not  be  lacking  at  the 
critical  time.     His  vote  was  indispensable  to 
Majendie  ;  and  it  was  not  thought   that  a 
man  of  Spurlock's  antecedents  and  connec- 
tions, elected  as  a  Democrat  and  represent- 
ing a  Democratic  district,  would  take  the 
responsibility  of  defeating   the  Democratic; 
party  in  a  struggle  which  meant  so  much, 
and  in  which  so  many  and  such  powerful  in- 
fluences would  operate  against  such  ingrati- 
tude and  infidelity. 

The  party  press  for  several  days  after  the 
caucus  was  full  of  Spurlock.  It  published 
and  discussed  his  speech,  alleging  all  sorts  of 
motives  for  his  action,  and  hazarding  all 
sorts  of  speculations  as  to  his  future  course. 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  65 

Some  of  the  more  extreme  papers  denounced 
his  "treachery"  with  a  profuse  display  of 
adjectives  and  capitals.  They  "branded" 
him  as  a  "  Judas ;  "  they  charged  him  with 
selling  out  to  "  Plutocracy ;  "  they  exposed 
him  as  holding  out  for  a  bribe  ;  they  adver- 
tised him  as  seeking  a  dicker  by  which  to 
exact  some  big  office  for  himself.  The  more 
politic  publications  adopted  a  conciliatory 
tone,  refusing  to  believe  that  after  due  con- 
sideration he  would  at  the  same  time  stab  his 
party  and  commit  suicide,  and  reiterating 
confidence  that  when  the  balloting  in  the 
Legislature  began  he  would  be  found  in  the 
closed  ranks  of  the  Democrats,  loyally  sacri- 
ficing his  personal  preferences  to  the  good  of 
the  party  and  the  people,  which  could  only 
be  achieved  through  the  election  of  the  party 
nominee. 

Majendie  encouraged  his  followers  in  this 
course.  With  him  a  caucus  was  supreme, 
and  he  professed  to  feel  sure  that  Spurlock 
would  yet  vote  for  him  in  the  Legislature. 
He  expressed  that  faith  when  in  the  presence 
of  Spurlock,  as  well  as  of  all  with  whom  he 
spoke  on  the  subject.  His  manner  to  Spur- 
lock was  unchanged.  He  was  the  same 
genial,  gracious  companion  and  patron  that 


66  "  IF  I  WERE  A  MAN  " 

he  had  ever  been ;  and  Dolliver,  looking  on, 
was  proud  of  his  distinguished  prottge,  and 
shared  his  sanguine  spirit. 

That  spirit  did  not  seem  to  be  any  the  less 
sanguine  when  the  Legislature  began  voting 
for  Senator,  and  Majendie's  repeated  assur- 
ance that  he  would  win  on  the  second  ballot 
was  unrealized.     The  nominee,  making  al- 
lowance for  several  scattering  "complimen- 
tary" votes  on  the  first  ballot,  had  claimed 
positively  that  he  would  receive  the  solid 
Democratic   vote,    with    the  two    Populist 
votes,  on  the  second  ballot,  and  be  elected. 
But  the  second  ballot  did  not  differ  from  the 
first,  in  which  Majendie  had  the  two  Popu- 
list votes  and  all  the  Democratic  votes  except 
eight ;  Spurlock,   followed  by  Tot  Waugh, 
voting  for  Thaxter,  a  Democrat  whose  public 
record  and  teachings  antagonized  all  that 
was  embraced  in  "  Golladayism,"  while  six 
others,  who  had  not  gone  into  the  caucus, 
divided  their  votes  among  almost  as  many 
favorites. 

The  balloting  went  on  daily ;  but  at  the 
end  of  the  first  week  of  it  Majendie  was  no 
nearer  the  required  majority  than  he  had 
been  at  the  beginning,  eight  Democrats  still 
standing  out  against  him,  most  of  whom 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  67 

were  now  voting  with  Spurlock  and  Waugh 
for  Thaxter. 

But  Majendie  gave  it  out  Saturday,  with 
mysterious  emphasis,  that  he  would  most 
assuredly  be  elected  Monday. 


VI 

THE  intervening  Sunday  was  spent  by 
Spurlock  in  Louisville.  Frankfort  was  not 
particularly  attractive  to  him  in  those  days. 
He  had  few  acquaintances  outside  the  Legis- 
lature, and  his  relations  with  his  own  party 
in  the  Legislature  were  anything  but  pleas- 
ant. But  there  were  other  relations  which 
were  far  more  disturbing  to  his  peace  of 
mind.  Innis  Majendie  was  the  daughter  of 
the  man  to  defeat  whom  Spurlock  had  defied 
his  party.  How  did  she  look  upon  his  con- 
duct? Men  called  it  trickery,  treachery, 
and  corruption  ;  could  he  expect  a  woman, 
with  all  a  woman's  intensity  of  partisanship 
and  lack  of  information  upon  the  public 
questions  which  had  dictated  his  course,  to 
be  any  more  liberal  than  men  ?  And  could 
he  expect  a  daughter,  believing  in  her  father 
and  sympathizing  with  his  high  ambition, 
to  weigh  with  justice  the  motives  of  a  pro- 
fessed friend,  a  confessed  lover,  who  delib- 
erately blocked  that  ambition  ?  It  was  not 
68 


"IF  1  WERE   A  MAN"  69 

human  nature;  it  was  not  woman  nature. 
And  it  was  because  he  thought  he  realized 
this,  that  the  threats  of  Spurlock's  own 
political  undoing  and  the  malignant  persecu- 
tion of  which  he  was  the  victim  were  insig- 
nificant factors  of  his  unhappiness  during 
these  first  days  of  his  experience  as  a 
"  bolter." 

Spurlock  had  not  seen  Innis  since  the 
Legislature  had  convened.  He  had  called 
the  evening  before  he  had  gone  to  Frank- 
fort, and  had  found  and  left  John  Hilborn 
with  her.  She  had  said  good-by  with  such 
sweet  friendliness,  and  had  wished  him  suc- 
cess in  all  his  plans  for  the  session  with  such 
sympathetic  sincerity  and  confidence,  that 
he  had  been  moved  by  a  premonition  of  the 
disappointment  and  pain  it  might  be  his  lot 
to  inflict  upon  her ;  for  even  then  he  doubted 
that  he  should  aid  her  father  in  his  effort  to 
reach  the  Senate. 

Now,  nearly  a  month  afterward,  he  had 
not  only  refused  that  aid,  but  was  recognized 
as  the  leader  of  those  Democrats  who  with- 
held their  votes  from  Judge  Majendie  and 
thus  prevented  his  election,  which  would 
otherwise  be  assured.  Would  Innis  listen  to 
him  if  he  sought  to  explain?  And  if  she 


70  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

listened,  could  she  be  expected,  considering 
her  own  relations  to  the  case,  to  understand 
and  to  judge  him  fairly  ? 

He  was  full  of  such  thoughts  as  the  train 
bore  him  from  Frankfort  to  Louisville  that 
Saturday  afternoon,  but,  keenly  as  he  real- 
ized his  own  situation,  his  thoughts  were 
more  for  her  than  for  himself.  He  felt  that, 
though  he  had  but  done  what  he  should  have 
done,  yet  in  doing  it  he  had  been  compelled 
to  hurt  her  whom  he  loved ;  and  this,  to  a 
man  like  Spurlock,  brings  an  anguish  far 
greater  than  any  that  can  follow  whatever 
fate  may  befall  himself. 

It  was  late  when  Spurlock  reached  Louis- 
ville, and  he  did  not  go  out  to  Airdrie  until 
Sunday  morning.  Saturday  evening,  how- 
ever, he  dropped  in  at  Julia  Page's.  Julia 
was  Innis  Majendie's  most  intimate  friend ; 
and  it  was  not  the  first  time  that  Spurlock 
had  dropped  in  at  Julia's  more,  perhaps, 
because  she  was  Innis  Majendie's  friend  than 
because  she  was  Julia  Page. 

There  were  several  in  the  room,  and  as 
Spurlock  entered  he  was  conscious  of  a  mo- 
mentary hush  of  the  conversation ;  he  was 
conscious,  too,  of  Innis  Majendie's  beautiful 
eyes  fixed  upon  him  with  a  look  of  startled 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  71 

inquiry,  and  something  more — was  it  hostil- 
ity and  challenge  ? — while  the  color  deepened 
in  her  cheeks.  Then  Julia  rose  to  greet  him, 
after  which  he  crossed  over  to  Innis,  whose 
manner,  if  changed,  as  he  felt  it  to  be,  must 
have  been  irreproachable  in  the  eyes  of  the 
others.  But  there  was  no  change  in  the 
grasp  of  John  Hilborn's  honest  hand  nor  in 
his  wholesome  voice,  and  Spurlock  warmed 
to  him  as  never  before.  There  were  two 
others  present,  young  men — so  young,  in- 
deed, that  they  were  unable  to  conceal  their 
awe  born  of  what  they  conceived  to  be  a 
social  crisis,  and  lapsed  into  silent  expectancy 
of  developments. 

They  waited  in  vain,  however.  Julia  was 
at  her  best  as  a  hostess  ;  John  Hilborn  alone 
could  have  carried  through  a  far  more  serious 
crisis  than  the  young  men  believed  even  this 
to  be ;  while  Innis,  if  to  Spurlock  her  vivac- 
ity seemed  a  little  forced,  to  the  lads  seemed 
unusually  charming,  and  when  they  left, 
nothing,  to  their  disappointment,  had  been 
said  or  done  to  indicate  that  the  situation  was 
in  the  least  strained.  After  their  departure 
there  were  a  few  minutes  of  general  conver- 
sation, when  Hilborn  also  took  his  leave. 
Then  Innis,  instead  of  resuming  her  seat, 


72  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

turned  to  a  cabinet  at  her  elbow  and  set  the 
head  of  a  carved  mandarin  to  nodding.  She 
watched  it  with  a  thoughtful  face,  which  she 
raised  as  the  outer  door  was  heard  to  close 
behind  Hilborn.  "Julia,"  she  said,  cross- 
ing the  room,  "  I  am  going  to  ask  you  and 
Mr.  Spurlock  to  excuse  me  for  the  rest  of 
the  evening." 

It  was  like  a  sentence  suddenly  passed 
upon  Spurlock,  but  he  stepped  forward  and 
extended  his  hand.  "You  do  look  tired." 
He  spoke  gently,  as  his  serious  eyes  sought 
hers.  "  Good-night." 

"  Good-night,  Mr.  Spurlock." 

She  gave  him  her  hand,  but  it  was  limp 
and  unresponsive ;  and  Spurlock  rejoined 
Miss  Page,  feeling  that  what  he  had  feared  as 
the  inevitable  had  come  to  pass,  his  heart 
full  of  sympathy  for  the  girl  he  loved  and  of 
rebellion  that  it  should  be  his  lot  to  bring 
to  her  anything  but  happiness. 

He  did  not  remain  long.  It  was  too  great 
an  effort  to  keep  up  appearances,  even  with 
one  he  knew  so  well  as  Julia  Page ;  and  he 
soon  found  his  way  to  the  streets,  which  he 
walked  for  miles  before  going  to  his  room  at 
the  hotel.  There  he  sat  till  dawn,  thinking 
over  and  over  all  the  things  he  had  thought 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  73 

over  and  over  on  his  long  walk.  Once  he 
almost  decided  that  he  would  go  to  Innis 
and  demand  an  opportunity  to  make  clear 
to  her  the  motives  which  had  impelled  him 
in  his  opposition  to  her  father,  but  he 
quickly  abandoned  that  idea.  What  was 
there  to  explain  that  he  had  not  already  ex- 
plained to  the  public  ?  To  make  any  further 
explanation  would  be  to  imply  in  Innis  some 
interpretation  of  his  conduct  which  it  would 
be  unmanly  to  attribute  to  her  and  unmanly 
to  repel.  The  more  he  pondered  over  the 
point  the  firmer  was  his  conviction  that 
Innis  Majendie's  present  attitude  to  him  was 
one  which  could  not  be  changed  by  explana- 
tions. He  did  not  pretend  to  much  knowl- 
edge of  the  labyrinths  of  the  feminine  mind, 
but  he  believed  he  had  seen  enough  of  it  to 
understand  that  often  its  most  inaccessible 
depths  lie  in  its  most  accessible  shallows, 
and  he  felt  that  it  would  be  worse  than  use- 
less for  him  to  try  to  reason  away  Innis's  un- 
spoken and  not-to-be-spoken  resentment. 

The  street-cars  were  clattering  beneath  his 
window  and  the  chamber-maids  were  chat- 
tering in  the  corridor  when  he  rose  from  the 
chair  in  which,  with  hardly  a  motion,  he  had 
sat  out  the  night.  After  a  cold  bath  and  a 


74  "IF  1  WERE  A  MAN" 

light  breakfast,  he  went  out  and  found  some 
violets,  which  he  sent  to  Innis  with  his  card, 
on  which  he  wrote:  "  With — whatever  has 
been  or  may  be — always  my  love. ' ' 

Then  he  got  a  horse  and  rode  out  to  Air- 
drie. 


VII 

MAJENDIE'S  assurance  that  he  would  be 
elected  Monday  was  not  confirmed.  Still, 
the  expectation  of  his  friends  that  "some- 
thing would  happen  "  was  not  wholly  dis- 
appointed; for  one  of  the  Democrats  who  had 
not  entered  the  caucus,  and  who  had  been 
voting  for  Thaxter,  changed  his  vote  to  Ma- 
jendie.  This  was  jubilantly  welcomed  by 
the  followers  of  the  judge,  and  his  newspaper 
organs  exultantly  heralded  it  as  "  the  begin- 
ning of  the  end." 

The  truth  is,  that  Majendie  had  known 
that  this  man  had  been  "whipped  into  line," 
and  would  vote  for  him  Monday,  and  had 
hoped  that  his  "  break  "  would  be  followed 
by  the  other  insubordinate  Democrats.  It 
was  reasonable  to  believe  that  it  would  be  fol- 
lowed by  some  of  them  soon ;  for  the  pressure 
brought  to  bear  on  them  was  such  that  few 
who  wished  to  remain  in  politics,  or  to  re- 
tain their  social  positions,  could  withstand. 
For  the  next  two  weeks  this  pressure  was 
75 


76  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

desperately  increased.  All  the  devices  of 
the  party  machinery,  all  the  ingenuity  of  the 
party  engineers,  all  the  influences  of  party 
prejudice  and  caste,  all  the  promises  of  party 
reward,  and  all  the  threats  of  party  punish- 
ment were  employed  to  force  these  men  to 
vote  for  the  party  nominee.  Indignation 
meetings  were  held  in  their  districts,  hot 
speeches  were  made,  fierce  resolutions  were 
passed,  calling  upon  them  to  vote  for  Ma- 
jendie  or  resign.  Newspapers  denounced, 
reviled,  slandered  them,  not  stopping  in  their 
persecution  at  an  unscrupulous  and  lying  in- 
vasion of  their  private  affairs.  Political  ruin 
and  social  ostracism  menaced  them,  if  they 
dared  to  continue  directing  their  courses  in 
accordance  with  their  consciences,  instead  of 
in  obedience  to  the  chance  decree  of  a  cau- 
cus. Spurlock  had  thought  that  every  re- 
source had  been  exhausted  to  make  him  vote 
for  Majendie  in  the  caucus ;  he  found  how 
greatly  he  had  underestimated  the  resources 
of  the  nominee  and  his  partisans  when  they 
began  plying  him  to  vote  for  Majendie  in 
the  Legislature. 

He  recognized  the  leadership  of  Dolliver 
in  much  of  this  siege,  and  several  days  after 
his  return  from  Louisville  he  took  some  com- 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  77 

fort  in  the  belief  that  he  had  rid  himself  of 
at  least  further  personal  attention  from  that 
individual. 

He  was  alone  in  his  room  one  afternoon 
when  Dolliver  found  him.  Dolliver  took  a 
chair  and  drew  it  near  Spurlock  without 
invitation.  Beyond  an  occasional  common- 
place he  said  nothing  for  a  few  seconds, 
seeming  rather  preoccupied  with  a  medita- 
tive study  of  Spurlock's  face. 

"Mr.  Spurlock."  he  finally  began,  "I 
just  come  up  from  Louisville  to  have  a  little 
talk  with  you  about  a  affair  of  the  greatest 
importance." 

"Yes?  "  answered  Spurlock,  with  a  smile 
in  his  eyes,  wondering  what  new  scheme 
Dolliver  was  about  to  spring  on  him  now. 

"You  know,  we  elect  Congressmen  this 
year,  and  in  our  district  there  is  already 
half  a  dozen  candidates ;  but  they  are  all 
ciphers  or  mossbacks,  and  the  party  can't 
stand  much  more  of  that  sort  of  thing." 

"Well?" 

"  Well,  we  want  a  man  who  ain't  a  cipher 
or  mossback — a  new  man,  a  clean  man,  a 
strong  man,  without  much  handicapping 
record,  but  who  has  proved  he's  got  the  right 
stuff  in  him." 


78  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

"  I  should  like  to  have  the  opportunity  to 
vote  for  such  a  man,  Mr.  Dolliver. ' ' 

"  Well,  Mr.  Spurlock,  a  lot  of  us  has  had 
a  conference  about  the  matter — a  majority 
of  the  committee  and  several  of  the  party 
leaders  in  the  district — and  they  all  agreed 
that  you  are  just  the  man,  and  sent  me  here 
to  ask  if  you  would  accept  the  nomination." 
Spurlock  laughed.  "  Is  this  a  joke  ?  ' ' 
"I  don't  never  joke  about  such  matters, 
Mr.  Spurlock.  We  want  you  to  run.  We 
promise  you  the  nomination,  and  we  are 
certain  to  elect  you.  We  don't  know  where 
to  find  another  man  that'll  fill  the  bill  like 
you." 

"  But  you  regard  me  a  bolter,  and  surely 
you  do  not  mean  to  nominate  a  bolter  ?" 

A  weak  smile  spread  over  Dolliver's  face. 
He  got  up  and  drank  a  glass  of  water,  and 
then  came  back  to  his  chair  before  reply- 
ing: 

"  You  see,  we  done  made  allowances  for  all 
that.  We  talked  it  all  over,  of  course,  and 
we  come  to  the  conclusion  that  you  would 
be  certain  to  square  your  record  before  the 
session  is  over.  The  fact  is,  we  all  agreed, 
like  the  rest  of  your  friends,  that  as  soon  as 
you  think  you  have  voted  against  Judge  Ma- 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  79 

jendie  long  enough  to  fully  make  your  point, 
you  will  turn  in  and  bow  to  the  will  of  the 
majority  and  vote  for  the  regular  nominee." 

"  And  in  that  case  I  shall  be  eligible  for 
the  nomination  to  Congress  ?  ' ' 

"  Why,  certain,  Mr.  Spurlock.  Our  idea 
is  that  the  best  party  man  is  the  one  who  has 
got  a  head  to  think  for  himself,  and  yet  who 
has  got  the  grip  to  shut  down  on  his  own 
opinions  for  the  good  of  the  party." 

Spurlock  was  looking  at  Dolliver  steadily 
through  narrowing  eyes,  and  the  lines  of  his 
lips  were  straightening.  "  Then  I  am  to 
understand,"  he  said,  calmly,  "that  if  I 
vote  for  Judge  Majendie  I  am  to  have  the 
nomination  to  Congress,  and  if  I  do  not 
vote  for  him  I  am  not  to  have  the  nomina- 
tion?" 

"  Of  course,  Mr.  Spurlock ;  it  would  be 
suicide  for  the  party  to  nominate  you  unless 
you  had  squared  your  record." 

Spurlock  rose  to  his  feet  as  he  replied. 
"  Dolliver,  I  will  say  this  much  for  you :  I 
believe  you  and  your  friends  are  able  to  give 
me  this  nomination,  and  that  you  will  keep 
your  word  if  I  will  carry  out  my  part  of  the 
bargain.  But  go  to  those  who  sent  you  and 
tell  them  that,  although  I  have  been  sub- 


8o  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

jected  to  about  every  other  indignity  since  I 
came  to  Frankfort,  this  is  the  first  direct  ef- 
fort to  bribe  me,  and  that  should  they  have 
any  other  such  proposition  to  make  to  me  I 
shall  be  very  much  obliged  to  them  if  they 
will  present  it  in  person.  As  for  you  ' '  — 
crossing  to  the  door  and  holding  it  open — 
"  if  I  thought  you  capable  of  really  compre- 
hending the  part  you  have  played  in  this 
thing,  instead  of  showing  you  out,  I  fear  I 
should  be  tempted  to  pitch  you  into  the 
gutter." 

There  was  a  venomous  flash  in  Dolliver's 
eyes,  but  only  for  an  instant.  He  got  up, 
laughing  softly  and  insipidly,  took  another 
gulp  of  water,  and  shambled  out  of  the 
room.  "Well,  Ogden  Spurlock,"  he  said, 
as  he  left,  "your're  a  raw  one.  I'm  afraid 
you  won' t  never  make  much  headway  in  our 
business  until  you  cut  a  few  wisdom  teeth. ' ' 


VIII 

LESS  than  half  an  hour  after  Dolliver's 
exit  Tot  Waugh  entered  Spurlock's  room. 
Tot's  lot  had  been  a  sorrowful  one  since  his 
sudden  self-elimination  from  the  caucus.  He 
had  not  only  missed  the  rare  fun  of  the  cau- 
cus itself,  but  his  life  ever  since  had  been 
acutely  unhappy.  He  had  always  looked 
upon  a  bolter  as  a  political  pariah,  to  be 
shunned  as  a  leper  ;  and  he  was  now  a  bolter. 
With  him  party  creed  had  been  nothing, 
party  associations  everything.  To  be  barred 
outside  the  party  pale,  to  be  disowned  by 
his  party  co-workers,  to  be  denounced  in 
the  party  press  as  an  ingrate  and  a  traitor, 
meant  far  more  to  him  than  it  would  have 
meant  if  he  had  had  any  resources  within  him- 
self to  fall  back  on,  any  intelligently  ground- 
ed conviction  to  inspire  and  sustain  his  ac- 
tion. And  being  educated  solely  in  the 
school  of  "  practical  politics,"  the  penalties 
with  which  he  was  threatened  and  the  re- 
wards with  which  he  was  tempted  were  very 
81 


82  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

serious  things,  indeed.  But  so  far  he  had 
stood  it  out  stubbornly.  He  had  loyally 
followed  Spurlock's  lead,  and  at  every  ballot 
in  the  Legislature  had  cast  his  vote  for 
Thaxter.  And  through  it  all,  sorely  as  he 
had  been  tried,  he  had  not  even  had  one 
fight. 

Tot  found  Spurlock  writing.  Taking  the 
chair  which  Dolliver  had  vacated,  he  strad- 
dled it,  facing  its  back,  across  which  he 
rested  his  arms. 

"Say,  Ogden?"  was  his  greeting. 

"  Hullo,  Tot !  "  Spurlock  laid  down  his 
pen  and  turned  to  his  visitor. 

"  Say,  Ogden,  I  want  to  ask  you  a  ques- 
tion." 

"All  right,  Tot." 

"And  I  want  you  to  put  yo'  answer  right 
over  the  plate." 

"Out  with  the  question,  then." 

"  Say,  are  you  goin'  to  keep  this  song 
and  dance  up  all  through  the  session  ?  " 

"  What  song  and  dance,  Tot  ?  " 

"  Or-r  !  this  here  votin'  agin  Judge  Ma- 
jendie." 

"  Yes ;  I  expect  to  vote  against  Judge 
Majendie  as  long  as  he  is  a  candidate." 

Tot's  chin  dropped  to  his  arms  across  the 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  83 

chair-back,  and  his  eyes  studied  the  carpet 
sadly  before  he  spoke  again. 

"That's  the  way  I  had  you  down,"  he 
confessed,  dejectedly. 

"  What's  up  now,  Tot  ?  ' '  Spurlock  asked. 

"  Nothin'  special.  Only  Lishe  Nagle,  he 
come  up  from  Louisville  to  see  me  to-day 
with  a  good  thing  to  give  me,  if  I  said  the 
word." 

Spurlock  waited  silently,  knowing  that 
Tot  would  continue  in  his  own  time. 

"  Lishe,  he's  leased  the  Pleasure  Palace 
Beer  Garden,  and  he's  goin'  to  run  her  wide 
open,  and  he  wants  somebody  to  run  her  for 
him.  It's  velvet — good  pay  and  a  fat  rake- 
off  extry." 

Spurlock  waited  again. 

"  Lishe  come  up  to  see  if  I  would  take  the 
job,  long  as  Sam  Dolliver  has  fired  me  for 
boltin'  Judge  Majendie,  and  I'm  likely  to  be 
on  my  uppers  when  the  Legislature's  over." 

"Well,  what  answer  did  you  give  him?  " 

"  I  told  him  I'd  give  him  my  answer  to- 
night. Lishe  said  it  would  hurt  his  trade  to 
put  it  in  the  hands  of  a  bolter,  so  he  couldn't 
afford  to  give  me  the  place  unless  I  squared 
my  record  by  votin'  for  Judge  Majendie  be- 
fore the  session  ends. ' ' 


84  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

"  Lishe  is  a  friend  of  Sam  Dolliver's,  isn't 
he,  Tot?" 

"They're  regular  bobbyshalies.  I  guess 
Sam's  puttin'  up  most  of  the  stuff  for  the 
Pleasure  Palace." 

"  It  is  very  like  Sam's  way  of  doing  bus- 
iness. He  made  a  somewhat  similar  prop- 
osition to  me  to-day." 

"He  did?  Nor!  The  nerve  of  him! 
What  did  you  say?  " 

"  I  believe  I  said  something  about  it  be- 
ing too  much  like  bribery,  and  that  it  would 
not  be  entirely  unjustifiable  under  such  cir- 
cumstances to  pitch  him  into  the  street." 

"Did  you?  On  the  dead?  It's  odds 
on  that  you  did  !  Well,  that's  the  talk,  and 
you're  the  reel  thing,  every  time!  "  Tot's 
doleful  visage  had  suddenly  lighted  up  and 
his  eyes  were  dancing.  "So  long,"  he 
added,  springing  to  his  feet.  "  I  gotter  git 
a  move  on  me ;  and,  say,  I  guess  I'll  have 
Lishe  Nagle's  answer  ready  for  him." 

He  was  out  and  away  so  swiftly  that  he 
did  not  hear,  or  heed,  Spurlock's  call  to 
him  to  wait  a  moment.  Spurlock,  smiling, 
turned  to  his  desk;  but  in  half  a  minute 
again  dropped  his  pen  and,  putting  on  his 
hat,  went  out  to  overtake  Tot  Waugh. 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  85 

He  was  not  quick  enough  for  that,  how- 
ever. Tot's  short  legs  clipped  off  space  so 
rapidly  that  they  had  carried  him  to  the 
hotel  in  which  he  had  left  Lishe  Nagle 
before  Spurlock  got  in  hailing  of  him. 

Nagle,  a  heavy,  loud-voiced  man,  in  good 
but  soiled  clothes,  was  standing  on  the 
sidewalk  in  front  of  the  hotel,  gesticulat- 
ing and  talking  to  a  group  of  idlers.  Tot 
Waugh,  breathing  harder  and  growing  red- 
der at  each  step,  went  straight  to  Nagle  and, 
clutching  his  collar,  cut  him  off  in  the 
middle  of  a  sentence,  jerking  and  dragging 
him  to  the  edge  of  the  pavement  and  send- 
ing him  sprawling  into  the  street. 

Nagle  scrambled  up  and,  tugging  at  his 
hip-pocket,  started  toward  Tot  Waugh, 
while  the  on-lookers  scattered  to  cover ;  but 
before  Nagle  could  draw  his  weapon,  Tot's 
fist  lunged  out  and  knocked  him  again  into 
the  dust. 

"  Gentlemen,"  said  Tot,  standing  on  the 
curbing  and  addressing  the  faces  that  peered 
around  corners  and  tree  -  boxes,  "  that 
geezer,"  pointing  to  Nagle,  who  had  once 
more  gained  his  feet  and,  shaking  his  head 
in  sullen  menace,  was  retreating  into  the 
hotel,  "that  geezer  tried  to  bribe  me  !  " 


86  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

The  papers  next  day  made  flaring  "  feat- 
ures ' '  of  the  affair.  The  tone  of  the  Ma- 
jendie  press  may  be  indicated  by  these  dis- 
play head-lines,  in  big  type,  taken  from  one 
of  the  dailies : 

DASTARDLY  OUTRAGE! 

Tot  Waugh,  the  Notorious  Bolter,  Bully,  and 
Bum  at  his  Old  Tricks — Brutally  Assaults 
an  Estimable  Gentleman  on  the  Streets  of 
Frankfort— Colonel  Elisha  Nagle,  One  of  the 
Best-Known  and  most  Public-Spirited  Cit- 
izens of  Kentucky,  the  Victim — The  Louis- 
ville Gutter-Snipe  Posing  as  an  Apostle  of 
Purity  in  Politics  — The  Whole  Thing  a 
Foul  Conspiracy  to  Injure  Judge  Majendie, 
by  Charging  One  of  His  Friends  with  an 
Attempt  at  Bribery — Is  it  a  Scheme  of  Og- 
den  Spurlock's  ?— Waugh,  a  Star  Member 
of  that  Milk- White  Patriot  and  Reformer's 
Crew  of  Party  Cut-Throats—Tot  Waugh 
Refuse  a  Bribe?— And  Away  Flew  the 
Woodcock  1 

And  these  are  the  head-lines  from  one  of 
the  anti-Majendie  papers  : 

RESENTS  A  BASE  INSULT. 

The  Hon.  Tottenham  Waugh's  Patience 
Tried  Too  Far  —  Indignantly  Repels  an 
Impeachment  of  His  Honor— Knocks  Down 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  87 

Lishe  Nagle,  the  Malodorous  Lobbyist  of 
Majendie  and  Pal  of  Dolliver  —  Went  to 
Frankfort  to  Buy  a  Vote  for  Majendie,  but 
Bought  a  Raw  Beefsteak  for  a  Black  Eye 
—Mr.  Waugh  on  His  Mettle,  and  Says  He 
does  not  Propose  to  Stand  any  more  Perse- 
cution from  the  Garroters'  Gang. 


IX 

THE  session  of  the  Legislature  was  now 
within  two  weeks  of  its  close.  It  was  an- 
other of  those  days  which  Judge  Majendie 
had  set  for  his  election,  "sure."  This 
time,  however,  the  judge's  confidence  seemed 
to  have  infected  all  his  supporters,  and  it 
was  a  confidence  which  now  impressed  every- 
one as  genuine,  not  feigned,  as  it  had  been 
more  than  once  before.  The  Democrats 
were  cheerful  to  radiance,  while  the  Repub- 
licans were  correspondingly  depressed.  Bets 
with  heavy  odds  on  Majendie's  election  had 
that  morning  been  freely  offered,  with  no 
takers.  It  was  well  understood  that  the  judge 
expected  to  make  his  ' '  supreme  effort ' ' 
to-day,  and  the  claim  of  those  "on  the 
inside"  that  the  result  would  be  all  they 
wished  it  to  be  was  evidently  for  once  made 
Honestly. 

There  wa§  an  unusual  animation  about  the 
old  capitol.  In  the  corridors  and  cloak- 
rooms were  groups  of  men  holding  whispered 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  89 

conferences  or  exchanging  pertinent  gossip. 
The  galleries  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives were  filled,  men  having  come  from 
distant  parts  of  the  State  to  be  present  at  the 
close  of  so  long  and  remarkable  a  struggle. 
Rumors  were  everywhere.  One,  with  some 
foundation,  was  that  the  Republicans  had 
intended  to  prevent  an  election  by  breaking 
a  quorum — a  rumor  which  was  quickly  dis- 
missed when  it  was  learned  that  they  had 
asked  and  been  refused  Spurlock's  assistance. 
It  was  necessary  that  the  Republicans  should 
have  the  co-operation  of  two  Democrats  in 
order  to  break  the  quorum ;  and  if  Spurlock 
had  declined,  no  one  believed  that  they  could 
find  two  other  Democrats  who  would  help 
them.  The  Majendie  men,  when  they  heard 
of  Spurlock's  refusal,  looked  significantly 
wise  and  pleased. 

When  the  Senate  filed  into  the  chamber  of 
the  House  for  the  joint  session  there  was  an 
air  of  expectancy  over  all,  which  was  stilled 
into  tense  silence  as  the  balloting  began. 
As  the  roll-call  was  ended  with  no  change 
from  the  last  preceding  ballot  there  was  a 
murmur  of  surprise  in  the  galleries  and  a  stir 
of  relief  among  the  Republicans  of  the  Legis- 
lature ;  but  before  the  result  of  the  ballot 


90  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

was  announced,  Colquitt,  one  of  the  Demo- 
crats who  had  been  voting  with  Spurlock  for 
Thaxter,  rose  to  his  feet  and  sought  the  rec- 
ognition of  the  presiding  officer.  Instantly 
there  was  wild  confusion  in  the  chamber,  the 
Republicans  demanding  that  the  ballot  be 
announced  and  the  Majendie  men  breaking 
into  cheer  after  cheer.  When  order  was  re- 
stored, the  Republicans  settling  back  into 
seats  with  glum  resignation,  and  the  Demo- 
crats leaning  forward  with  glowing  faces, 
Colquitt  said : 

"  For  nearly  two  months  I  have  been  cast- 
ing my  vote  for  Mr.  Thaxter,  whom  I  believe 
to  be  one  of  the  soundest  and  ablest  of  living 
Democrats.  I  have  voted  as  I  thought,  and 
still  think,  for  the  best  interest  of  my  people 
and  party.  But  the  time  has  come  when  I 
must  decide  whether  I  shall  longer  vote  for  a 
Democrat  of  my  own  choice  who  cannot  be 
elected,  or  for  a  Democrat  I  should  not 
have  chosen,  but  who  may  be  elected.  We 
have  already  wasted  the  greater  part  of  the 
session,  and  neglected  the  public  business  in 
this  struggle ;  and  it  is  plain  that  somebody 
must  give  way,  or  there  will  be  no  election. 
As  it  is  evident  that  the  Majendie  men  won't 
come  to  us,  and  as  it  is  now  the  election  of 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  91 

no  Democrat  or  of  Judge  Majendie,  I  sur- 
render to  the  majority  of  my  party,  throwing 
upon  them  the  responsibility,  and  change  my 
vote  from  Thaxter  to  Majendie." 

Then  chaos  came  again.  The  Majendie  men 
yelled  and  danced  for  joy,  gathering  around 
Colquitt  and  hugging  him,  drowning  out  the 
thumps  of  the  gavel  and  the  calls  for  order,  the 
demands  for  the  announcement  of  the  ballot, 
and  the  motions  for  adjournment.  At  the  first 
lull  another  of  the  Thaxter  Democrats  arose 
and  changed  his  vote  to  Majendie,  and  almost 
simultaneously  three  more  did  the  same. 
Spurlock  and  Tot  Waugh  were  the  only 
Democratic  members  now  who  had  not  voted 
for  Majendie,  and  their  votes  would  elect 
him.  The  chamber  by  this  time  was  more 
like  that  of  a  crazy  political  convention  than 
that  of  a  legislative  assembly.  But  little 
attempt  was  made  to  control  it,  and  no 
attention  was  paid  to  that.  Men  were  shout- 
ing, laughing,  crying,  embracing  each  other. 
The  storm  below  was  answered  by  another 
storm  from  the  galleries,  from  which  the 
handkerchiefs  of  women  fluttered,  and  over 
the  railing  of  which  someone  was  waving  a 
flag  exultantly.  Majendie' s  happy  followers 
were  swarming  around  Tot  Waugh,  begging 


92  "  IF  I  WERE  A  MAN  " 

him,  pulling,  pushing  him,  winding  their 
arms  about  him.  Tot,  very  red,  both  from 
his  self-consciousness  as  the  object  of  such 
pronounced  attentions  and  from  his  effort  to 
restrain  himself  from  joining  in  the  infectious 
enthusiasm  of  his  colleagues,  kept  his  eyes 
fixed  eagerly  upon  Spurlock,  who  remained 
in  his  seat,  quietly  observant  of  all  that  was 
going  on. 

It  was  not  long  before  he,  too,  was  sur- 
rounded by  Majendie's  jubilant  partisans. 
"  Tot  Waugh  says  he  will  vote  with  us  if  you 
will !  ' '  one  of  them  cried,  running  over  to 
him  from  Tot.  Other  invocations  followed 
fast. 

"  It  all  depends  on  you  now,  Spurlock  !  " 

"  It's  up  to  you  now,  old  man  !  " 

"  Come  on,  Ogden;  say  the  word,  and  save 
the  day!  " 

"  For  God's  sake,  old  fellow,  you  won't 
go  back  on  us  now  !  ' ' 

"  Help  us  out,  Ogden,  and,  by  the  Lord 
Harry,  nothing  can  keep  you  from  being  our 
next  Governor  !  ' ' 

Spurlock  made  no  answer,  but  looking  over 
that  tempest-swept  assembly,  noted  that  all 
faces  seemed  turned  to  him,  the  Democrats' 
shining  with  hope,  the  Republicans'  set  with 


"  IF  I  WERE  A  MAN  "  93 

foreboding.  Up  in  the  ladies'  gallery  he  saw 
one  face  that  made  his  heart  sink.  Pale  and 
drawn,  with  eyes  strained  upon  himself  as 
she  leaned  forward,  it  was  the  face  of  Innis 
Majendie,  sitting  between  Julia  Page  and 
John  Hilborn.  For  a  moment,  far  away  were 
the  insistent  throng  and  the  excited  assembly, 
and  only  near  and  real  was  the  dear,  sweet 
presence  in  the  gallery.  He  had  not  seen 
her  since  she  had  left  him  that  night  at  Julia 
Page's.  She  had  probably  come  with  her 
friends  on  the  morning  train  from  Louisville, 
as  others  had  come,  to  witness  the  expected 
triumph  of  her  father;  and  here  were  the 
Legislature,  the  State,  the  party,  but  far 
more  to  him  than  all  these,  this  girl,  waiting 
for  him  to  say  whether  such  a  triumph  was 
to  be.  A  profound  impulse  of  tenderness  and 
sympathy  impelled  him  to  go  to  her  and  take 
her  in  his  arms.  "Up  with  you  now,  old 
chap;  you  can't  hold  out  against  us  any  fur- 
ther !  "  Somebody  had  seized  him  on  one 
side,  and  somebody  else  on  the  other,  and 
between  the  two  they  lifted  him  bodily  to  his 
feet.  He  could  not  help  smiling  at  this  pro- 
ceeding, and  the  Majendie  men,  seeing  that 
he  had  risen,  and  seeing  the  smile,  broke  into 
a  rousing  roar,  which  quickly  sank  into  the 


94  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

absolute  silence  with  which  his  words  were 
awaited.  Tot  Waugh,  his  face  grotesque  with 
joy,  advanced  half-way  down  an  aisle  and 
stood  with  eyes  intent  and  mouth  open. 

"I  do  not  wish  to  obstruct  the  election 
of  a  Democratic  Senator,"  Spurlock  said, 
calmly;  "I  have  never  wished  to  do  that. 
I  am  at  any  time  willing  to  change  my  vote 
from  Mr.  Thaxter  to  any  good  man  who  be- 
lieves in  the  same  sort  of  Democracy.  There 
was  no  reason  why  I  should  say  anything  at 
all  to-day.  Besides  being  out  of  order,  I 
have  nothing  to  add  to  what  I  said  in  the 
caucus.  As  I  explained  then,  I  will  vote 
for  any  Democrat  who  will  uphold  the  last 
Democratic  platform." 

As  Spurlock  took  his  seat  those  who  had 
gathered  around  him  fell  away  and  a  sibilant 
hiss  sounded  through  the  hall,  which  was 
quickly  suppressed  by  some  of  Majendie's 
more  politic  lieutenants  ;  while  Tot  Waugh, 
with  downcast  eyes  and  bent  head,  collapsed 
into  the  nearest  seat. 

The  ballot  was  then  announced  :  Majen- 
die,  68  ;  Foxall  (Republican  nominee),  68  ; 
Thaxter,  2  ;  necessary  to  an  election,  70. 


AFTER  adjournment  Spurlock  walked 
through  the  outskirts  of  the  town,  toward 
the  greening  hills.  Although  several  ballots 
had  been  taken,  all  with  the  same  result,  he 
had  noticed  shortly  after  the  first  ballot  of 
the  day  had  been  announced  that  the  seats 
of  Innis  Majendie's  party  were  vacant.  As 
he  left  the  State-house  he  was  hailed  by  John 
Hilborn,  who  grasped  his  hand,  it  seemed  to 
Spurlock  with  even  a  warmer  pressure  than 
ever,  and  who  explained  that  he  was  remain- 
ing over  in  Frankfort  on  business,  having 
just  put  Miss  Majendie  and  Miss  Page  on  the 
train  for  Louisville.  ' '  Spurlock, ' '  he  added, 
before  hurrying  on  his  way,  "  I  wish  I  knew 
how  to  tell  you — I  hope  you  will  let  me  say 
this  much — that  I  have  some  idea  of  the 
fight  you  are  making,  and  that  I  do  not  be- 
lieve I  know  another  man  who  would  be 
equal  to  it." 

Spurlock' s  walk  might  have  been  through 
the  bleakest  barrens  instead  of  through  the 
95 


96  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

beautiful  country  around  Frankfort  in  the 
early  spring.  He  noted  little  of  the  soft 
sunlight  on  the  uplands,  the  answering  flush 
of  the  peach  orchards,  the  mellow  fragrance 
of  the  upturned  loam,  the  tender  freshness 
of  the  turf,  dappled  with  the  delicate  blos- 
soms of  the  dog-tooth  violet  and  the  wake- 
robin.  He  felt  not  the  buoyant  stir  that 
pulsed  sod  and  bough  and  wing-cleft  air. 
His  thoughts  were  of  the  turbulent  events  of 
the  session,  of  the  part  he  had  played  in 
them,  and,  most  of  all,  of  the  white,  pained 
face  he  had  seen  in  the  gallery.  He  under- 
stood the  consequences  of  his  refusal  to  elect 
Majendie  that  day — the  increased  oppro- 
brium and  persecution  it  would  bring  him, 
the  stronger  contempt  of  those  who  honestly 
believed  he  had  betrayed  his  party  and 
proved  false  to  his  friends,  the  multiplica- 
tion of  the  charges  of  corruption  that  had 
already  been  uttered  against  him.  The  joint 
session  had  hardly  adjourned  before  he  had 
rushed  up  to  Tot  Waugh  and  pulled  him 
away  from  a  man  whom  Tot  was  about  to 
strike  for  insinuating,  Tot  afterward  ex- 
plained, that  Spurlock  was  playing  to  elect, 
and  would  yet  openly  vote  for,  Foxall,  the 
Republican  nominee  ;  although  it  was  no- 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  97 

torious  that  Foxall  was  as  unsound  as  Ma- 
jendie  on  the  very  questions  in  consideration 
of  which  Spurlock  had  withheld  his  vote 
from  the  judge. 

But  it  was  not  such  reflections  as  these 
that  did  most  to  shut  in  Spurlock  from  the 
breaking  spring  as  he  walked  the  fields  this 
afternoon.  What  disturbed  him  more  than 
all  the  penalties  that  could  be  visited  upon 
him  by  the  enemies  he  had  made  was  the 
knowledge  that  he  had  pained  Innis  Majen- 
die.  Since  he  had  known  her  the  truest 
pleasure  he  had  felt  was  to  minister  to  her 
pleasure,  and  the  ever-present  desire  possessed 
him  to  seek  and  do  those  things  which 
would  add  to  her  happiness.  Nothing  had 
ever  stabbed  him  so  poignantly  as  the  look 
he  had  caught  on  her  face  while  she  leaned 
over  the  gallery  railing.  And  beyond  all 
that,  he  was  very  human,  and,  after  a  little, 
thoughts  of  self  commingled  with  thoughts 
of  her  to  deepen  his  depression.  The  bar- 
rier he  knew  he  had  placed  between  himself 
and  Innis  was  ever  before  him.  It  was  all 
well  enough  to  say  that  his  defeat  of  her 
father  could  not  modify  a  man's  relations 
with  a  just  woman.  There  could  be  no  just 
woman  in  such  a  daughter's  place.  And 


98  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

consider  it  as  he  might  from  the  lofty  plane 
of  duty,  Spurlock  was  sure  to  be  dragged 
down  to  the  lower  plane  of  self. 

And  John  Hilborn.  "  If  I  were  a  man," 
Innis  had  said,  "  I  should  do  things."  Spur- 
lock  could  not  help  recalling  that  little 
speech  as  he  thought  of  John  Hilborn.  Hil- 
born was  a  man,  and  he  did  things.  He 
had  made  his  way  in  the  world,  and  he  had 
made  it  wide  enough  for  many  others  to 
travel  with  comfort.  He  was  at  the  head  of 
a  prosperous  business;  but  his  employees 
prospered  as  he  prospered,  and  he  had  their 
respect  and  friendship,  as  well  as  their  fidel- 
ity and  co-operation.  Nor  did  he  live  with- 
in his  business.  It  was  he  who,  when  the 
most  beautiful  park  land  in  Louisville  was 
about  to  be  cut  into  building  lots,  bought 
and  gave  it  to  the  city.  It  was  he  who  orig- 
inated and  carried  through  the  movement 
that  resulted  in  the  erection  of  the  splendid 
Auditorium  and  Conservatory  of  Music  at 
Fourth  and  Broadway ;  and  there  was  a  say- 
ing about  town  that  Hilborn's  public  spirit 
would  even  yet  secure  for  Louisville  a  hotel 
in  which  a  civilized  wayfarer  could  get  a  din- 
ner at  a  civilized  dinner-hour.  In  addition 
to  being  a  man  who  did  things,  Hilborn  was 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  99 

a  gentleman ;  and  in  addition  to  believing 
in  himself,  he  believed  in  women.  And 
with  it  all,  he  was  still  young,  and  he  adored 
Innis  Majendie. 

Spurlock  felt  that  he  could  not  have  a 
more  worthy  and  more  dangerous  rival,  at  a 
more  inopportune  time. 


XI 


ON  the  closing  day  of  the  session  Majen- 
die  played  his  last  card. 

It  was  a  contemptible  play ;  but  the  play- 
er being  more  a  politician  than  a  man,  it  was 
not  beneath  him,  although  he  did  not  resort 
to  it  until  everything  else  had  failed  to  se- 
cure for  him  Spurlock's  vote. 

The  session  of  the  Legislature  ended  on 
Tuesday  ;  Sunday  night  Majendie  spent  at 
his  own  home,  running  down  to  Louisville 
on  an  evening  train,  and  returning  to  Frank- 
fort the  next  morning. 

"  Innis,"  he  had  said,  having  found  an 
opportunity  to  speak  alone  with  his  daugh- 
ter, "  I  don't  know  how  to  make  out  Ogden 
Spurlock's  conduct;  it  is  simply  inexplic- 
able. And  I  was  surer  of  him  than  of  any 
other  man  in  the  Legislature.  It  is  certainly 
most  strange." 

Innis  looked  at  him  a  little  curiously,  a 
slight  color  coming  into  her  face.  "I'm 
more  disappointed  than  you  can  be,  father," 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  101 

she  answered,  in  a  voice  low  with  sympathy. 
"  I  had  set  my  heart  on  your  winning." 

The  judge  was  leaning  comfortably  back 
in  his  big  easy-chair,  his  hands  clasped  be- 
hind his  head,  and  his  eyes  apparently  scan- 
ning the  titles  on  the  topmost  row  of  his 
book-shelves.  "I  thought,  maybe,"  he 
said,  "  it  might  be  something — ar — personal 
between  him  and  you.  I'm  sure  he  can 
have  nothing  personal  against  me." 

"  Oh,  I  don't  think  that !  "  in  quick  sur- 
prise and  protest. 

"  I — had  an  idea  last  summer  that  you  and 
he  were  great  friends.  Did  anything  hap- 
pen to — break  your  friendship  ?  " 

She  studied  his  impassive  profile  in  a  wist- 
ful, puzzled  way.  "  We  were  good  friends 
last  summer,  and  I  had  no  reason  to  believe 
we  were  not  good  friends  when  he  left  for 
Frankfort  this  winter." 

"  I — ar — fancied  there  was  something 
more  than  friendship — at  least  on  his  part. 
And  some  men  in — in  love  are  easily  miffed, 
you  know." 

"  Father  !  "  in  startled  reproach. 

The  judge  unclasped  his  hands,  and,  rest- 
ing them  on  the  arms  of  his  chair,  leaned 
forward  and  met  the  troubled  gaze  of  his 


102  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

daughter.  "  My  child,  it  is  as  a  father  that 
I  speak  to  you.  I  was  not  blind  last  sum- 
mer. I  saw  how  things  were  going,  and  I 
was  pleased;  I  could  not  have  been  better 
pleased  at  any  choice  you  could  have  made. 
But  something  happened — some  misunder- 
standing came  up — and  Ogden  is  allowing  it 
to  rankle,  and  to  warp  his  better  nature.  All 
his  high  talk  about  duty  and  principle  is 
poppycock  to  conceal  his  real  wound.  My 
dear,  don't  let  a  foolish  lovers'  quarrel  ruin 
your  happiness  and  my  future.  Make  it  up. 
You  will  make  it  up  some  time — make  it  up 
to-morrow.  Send  him  some  message,  some 
token,  something.  Send  it  now,  for  unless 
I  win  this  race  to-morrow  or  next  day,  child, 
I'm  likely  to  be  a  ruined  man."  His  voice 
sank  and  trembled — he  had  been  a  successful 
jury  lawyer  before  he  was  elected  to  the 
bench — and  he  waited  for  her  answer  in  sus- 
pense that  would  have  appeared  to  an  on- 
looker almost  pathetic. 

Innis  had  stared  at  him  first  with  incredu- 
lity, then  amazement,  and — but  what  her 
eyes  might  have  shown  after  that  was  hidden 
by  fallen  lids.  There  was  no  color  in  her 
face  now ;  there  seemed  to  be  no  life  in  it. 
She  sat  motionless  and  silent  for  a  little  after 


"  IF  I  WERE  A  MAN  "  103 

the  judge  had  spoken  ;  then  she  rose,  and, 
looking  down  on  him  as  if  he  were  far  away, 
she  said,  calmly : 

"  I  would  have  done  anything  for  you, 
father — anything  but  that."  She  passed 
him  and  left  the  room  with  a  dignity  that 
was  graver  than  was  usually  hers.  She 
walked  across  the  hall  and  ascended  the 
stairs  slowly,  as  if  in  a  dream.  But  once 
beyond  the  turn  of  the  stairway,  she  sank 
weakly  down  and,  throwing  her  arms  across 
a  step,  buried  her  face  in  them,  shaking  with 
suppressed  sobs.  It  is  not  difficult  for  a  man 
like  Majendie  to  deceive  the  women  of  his 
family.  To  Innis  he  had  always  been  her 
ideal  of  nobility  and  honor.  The  mask  had 
been  suddenly  lifted,  and  it  would  have  been 
easier  for  her  if  the  tomb  had  closed  upon 
him. 

Judge  Majendie  lighted  a  cigar  and,  smok- 
ing it,  gazed  reflectively  through  the  win- 
dow— the  same  window  through  which  he  saw 
once  before,  as  now,  Spurlock  take  the  little 
sardonyx  seal  from  his  fob  and  give  it  to  Innis. 

The  judge  left  early  next  morning,  with- 
out seeing  Innis  again.  When  he  reached 
Frankfort  he  found  that  little  city  in  the 
throes  of  an  upheaval.  In  obedience  to  the 


104  "  IF  I  WERE  A  MAN  " 

order  of  the  Republican  Governor,  troops 
had  taken  possession  of  the  State-house,  guard- 
ing its  approaches,  its  doorways  and  halls. 
It  was  an  unprecedented  proceeding  in  Ken- 
tucky, and  had  greatly  incensed  the  Dem- 
ocrats. They  denounced  it  as  a  high-handed 
usurpation  of  power,  a  prostitution  of  the 
military  arm  of  the  State  to  the  aid  of  the 
Republican  candidate  for  Senator,  and  gath- 
ered in  public  meeting  to  express  their  indig- 
nation. The  Democratic  members  of  the 
Court  of  Appeals  refused  to  hold  court  in  the 
Capitol  while  the  militia  remained  on  duty 
there ;  the  Democratic  State  Senate  declared 
that  it  would  enact  no  legislation,  but  threat- 
ened to  imprison  the  Governor  under  au- 
thority which  it  claimed,  ending,  however, 
in  only  censuring  his  action. 

This  extraordinary  situation  was  one  of 
the  many  extraordinary  developments  of  the 
desperate  partisan  struggle  over  the  election 
of  a  United  States  Senator.  A  few  days  be- 
fore, the  Republican  majority  of  the  lower 
house  of  the  Legislature  had  voted  to  unseat 
a  Democratic  member  and  admit  the  Repub- 
lican contestant.  The  Democrats  charged 
that  this  was  simply  a  partisan  trick  to  elect 
Foxall,  the  Republican  nominee  for  United 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  105 

States  Senator.  The  Democratic  majority  in 
the  State  Senate  had  threatened  that  for 
every  Democrat  turned  out  of  the  House  two 
Republicans  would  be  turned  out  of  the  Sen- 
ate, and  when  the  Democrat  was  unseated  in 
the  House  two  Republicans  were  at  once  un- 
seated in  the  Senate.  Several  deputies  were 
also,  appointed  by  the  Sergeant-at-arms  of  the 
Senate  to  see  that  the  expelled  members 
should  not  enter  the  House  and  take  part 
in  the  joint  sessions  for  the  election  of  a 
Federal  Senator.  The  authority  to  make 
these  appointments,  and  for  that  purpose, 
was  disputed  by  the  Republicans,  who  were 
further  inflamed  by  the  character  of  the  new 
deputies.  These  men  were  all  aggressive 
lobbyists  for  Majendie ;  had  come  to  Frank- 
fort at  the  beginning  of  the  session  to  "work" 
for  the  judge,  and  had  faithfully,  and  often 
offensively,  fulfilled  their  mission  to  the  end. 
In  the  vernacular  of  their  kind  they  were 
alleged  to  have  hailed  "  from  the  head-waters 
of  Bitter  Creek,"  were  always  "  loaded  for 
"b'ar,"  which  is  to  say,  they  were  always 
well  armed  with  knives  or  pistols,  and  were 
ready  to  use  them  on  the  slightest  provoca- 
tion. That,  at  least,  was  their  reputation, 
of  which  they  seemed  to  be  proud,  and  there 


106  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

were  few  of  them  who  did  not  bear  on  their 
persons  the  scars  of  "  personal  difficulties" 
of  which  they  had  been  the  heroes.  The 
Republicans  asserted  that  these  men  were  ap- 
pointed because  they  were  supposed  to  be 
bullies,  and  were  to  play  the  part  of  bullies. 
Feeling  on  both  sides  was  fierce ;  most  of 
the  members  of  the  Legislature  went  to  the 
Capitol  armed  ;  and  there  was  undoubtedly 
danger  that  the  tension  would  at  any  mo- 
ment break  in  acts  of  violence  and  blood- 
shed. The  Governor  insisted  that  the  Mayor 
and  the  Sheriff  could  not  or  would  not  pre- 
serve the  peace,  and  that  it  therefore  de- 
volved upon  himself  to  do  so  by  means  of 
the  militia. 

This  unexpected  action  of  the  Governor, 
and  the  manner  in  which  it  had  been  taken 
— the  troops  having  been  called  out  at  nine 
o'clock  Sunday  night  by  the  alarm  bells  and 
hurriedly  stationed  in  the  Capitol — had  cre- 
ated such  excited  resentment  and  such  fierce 
conflict  of  discussion  as  to  the  Governor's 
authority  to  resort  to  it,  that  it  overshadowed 
on  Monday  even  the  interest  in  the  contest  for 
United  States  Senator;  although,  on  Tues- 
day, as  the  time  drew  near  for  the  last  joint 
session,  the  ' '  Senatorial  dead-lock  ' '  again 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  107 

occupied  first  place  in  the  public  mind. 
There  was  a  persistent  rumor  that  Majendie 
at  last  had  his  race  won.  His  adherents  were 
again  radiantly  confident,  and  justified  their 
confidence  with  the  claim  that  Spurlock, 
shocked  and  disgusted  by  the  Governor's 
"  usurpation  of  power  "  in  furtherance  of  the 
election  of  Foxall,  would  effectually  rebuke 
it  by  voting  for  Majendie.  The  papers 
were  full  of  this  argument,  and  one  journal 
which  had  stood  faithfully  with  Spurlock  in 
his  opposition  to  Majendie  had  delighted 
the  judge's  followers  by  formally  surrender- 
ing and  urging  that  it  was  now  the  duty  of 
all  Democrats,  whatever  their  differences  on 
other  points,  to  unite  on  Majendie  for  the 
vindication  of  constitutional  democracy  and 
the  repudiation  of  this  unscrupulous,  unholy, 
and  undemocratic  conspiracy  of  militarism. 
Judge  Majendie  had  been  shrewd  enough 
long  ago  to  abandon  further  personal  so- 
licitations of  Spurlock,  but  he  made  it  a 
point  this  morning  to  watch  for  and  over- 
take the  young  man  on  his  way  to  the  Cap- 
itol. Outwardly  he  had  always  been  as 
genial  in  his  manner  to  Spurlock  as  if  they 
were  the  best  of  friends.  "  Well,  Ogden," 
he  said,  taking  Spurlock  by  the  arm,  as  of 


io8  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

old,  "  this  is  the  last  day  of  the  session,  and 
I  suppose  you  are  as  glad  of  it  as  I  am." 

"  I  cannot  say  that  I  regret  it,  Judge." 

"  It  will  be  a  great  relief  to  me  when  it 
is  all  over — a  great  relief.  Ah!  "  with  a 
breath  that  was  like  a  sigh,  "  it  is  a  hard, 
hard  life,  this  one  of  politics,  Ogden.  Here 
am  I,  not  far  from  sixty,  with  the  fever  of  it 
still  burning  in  my  veins  as  if  I  were  your 
own  age,  and  staking  all  that  I  have  accom- 
plished, all  that  I  have  saved,  all  my  future 
hopes  and  usefulness,  upon  this  day's  work 
in  a  Legislature  that  to-morrow  will  be  dis- 
persed to  the  four  winds  and  next  day  will 
be  forgotten.  It  is  a  critical  day  for  me 
and  mine — a  critical,  critical  day.  As  for 
myself,  I  hope  I  am  stoic  enough  to  stand 
the  worst,  but  I  am  concerned  for  my  party, 
and  I  am  deeply,  deeply  concerned  for  " — 
dropping  his  voice  almost  tremulously  — 
"  for  my  loved  ones,  to  whom  my  success  or 
failure  means  so  much — ah,  so  very,  very 
much  more  than  the  world  will  ever  suspect 
or  understand." 

Spurlock  turned  his  head  and  looked  at 
the  man,  whose  eyes  held  to  the  pavement. 

"  But  I  feel  more  cheerful  to-day  than  at 
any  time  since  —  since  the  caucus,"  the 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  109 

judge  continued.  "They  tell  me  it's  all 
right  now.  Do  you  know  what  they  are 
saying,  old  fellow?  Everybody,  the  whole 
State,  says  that  this  last  outrage  of  the  Re- 
publicans ends  the  race ;  that  it  unites  our 
party  beyond  peradventure ;  that  all  minor 
differences  are  swallowed  up  in  the  greater 
question  of  the  impediment  of  constitution- 
al government ;  and  that  at  such  a  crisis 
Ogden  Spurlock,  who  has  already  made  so 
splendid  a  reputation  for  conscientiousness, 
independence,  and  courage,  will  still  further 
distinguish  himself  and  at  the  same  time  en- 
dear himself  to  his  country  and  his  party  by 
rising  to  the  new  heights  upon  which  the 
issue  is  now  joined,  and,  where  he  had  here- 
tofore consistently  opposed,  now  as  consist- 
ently elect,  his  party's  nominee." 

"  Judge  Majendie,"  Spurlock  began, 
with  a  quiet  smile,  "  does  it  not  seem  clear 
that " 

"But,  but,  but,"  the  judge  laughed, 
waving  his  disengaged  hand  authoritatively, 
"I  did  not  join  you  to  talk  of  politics,  my 
boy !  Quite  the  contrary.  I  know  that 
you  will  do  what  you  think  right,  and  I  am 
more  than  satisfied  to  leave  the  whole  ques- 
tion with  you.  What  I  did  want  to  say  to 


no  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

you,  Ogden,  was,  that  in  spite  of  our  past 
political  variances,  and  whatever  course  you 
may  take  to-day — whether  you  make  me  or 
break  me  politically — our  future  personal  re- 
lations must  not  suffer  any  change.  You 
must  not  think  that  of  me.  We  are  very 
fond  of  you,  old  fellow,  in  our  family,  and 
after  this  infernal  Legislature  adjourns  we 
want  you  to  come  among  us  just  as  always." 

Spurlock  flushed.  "  You  are  generous, 
Judge,  and  I  certainly  hope " 

"  I  came  up  only  yesterday — spent  Sun- 
day night  at  home.  It  would  do  you  good 
to  see  the  River  Road  now,  Ogden.  Spring 
is  coming  very  fast  along  that  thoroughfare, 
and  as  for  Innis's  yard,  why,  it's  worth  go- 
ing across  the  continent  just  to  see  the 
crimson  magnificence  of  that  hawthorn  clump 
of  hers.  Mrs.  Majendie  inquired  after  you 
affectionately,  and  Innis — oh,  by  the  way,  I 
brought  something  back  with  me  for  you, 
Ogden,"  fumbling  in  his  pockets.  "I 
ought  to  have  delivered  it  before  this — I 
say,  Lintz,"  calling  to  a  man  in  advance  of 
them  just  going  up  the  State-house  steps, 
"  wait  there ;  I  want  to  speak  with  you, 
Lintz — but,"  to  Spurlock  again,  "I  didn't 
have  a  chance  to  see  you  yesterday.  What 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  in 

in  the  world  have  I  done  with  it  ?  "  search- 
ing through  other  pockets,  as  he  paused  at 
the  foot  of  the  steps.  "  Ah !  I  remember 
now.  I  changed  my  clothes  this  morning, 
and  it  is  in  the  pocket  of  another  vest.  I'll 
get  it  for  you  when  I  go  to  the  hotel  this 
afternoon.  It  is  that  little  sardonyx  seal  of 
yours,  Ogden,  which  you  used  to  wear  on 
your  fob,  you  recollect,  and  which  I  was 
very  glad  to  have  an  opportunity  to  restore 
to  you.  Excuse  me  now,  please  ;  I  want  a 
word  with  Lintz."  And  the  judge,  well- 
dressed,  well-barbered,  light-footed,  sprang 
up  the  steps  and  went  off  arm  in  arm  with 
Lints. 


XII 

"HELLO,  Spurlock  !  "  Someone  greeted 
him,  from  behind,  a  moment  after  the  judge 
had  left  him.  "  I  was  just  having  a  bet  with 
myself  whether  you  were,  like  the  snake  that 
made  the  track  in  the  jungle,  '  going  forward 
or  coming  back.'  " 

Spurlock  was  standing  where  the  judge 
had  paused  as  he  spoke  those  last  strange 
words  before  joining  Lintz.  One  foot  was 
upon  the  bottom  step,  and  he  had  an  air  of 
indecision  that  fully  warranted  the  doubt  as 
to  the  direction  he  would  take.  He  turned 
as  he  was  addressed,  with  a  look  which,  for  an 
instant,  was  what  Tot  Waugh,  who  passed 
and  scanned  him  solicitously,  pronounced 

"groggy-" 

Then  Spurlock  smiled  distantly  and  walked 
on  into  the  Capitol  with  the  member  who 
had  accosted  him.  "That's  a  track,"  he 
answered,  "  which  is  supposed  to  be  much 
travelled  by  men  as  well  as  snakes,  is  it  not ; 
at  least,  by  men  in  politics  ?  ' ' 
112 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  113 

They  went  on  into  the  house  together, 
talking  commonplaces;  but  when  Spurlock 
took  his  customary  seat  in  the  chamber  he 
could  not  easily  have  recalled  anything  that 
had  passed  between  them.  His  ears  were 
ringing  with  the  words  Judge  Majendie  had 
spoken  as  he  had  felt  in  his  pockets  for 
the  sardonyx  seal,  and  all  through  the  morn- 
ing session  Spurlock  sat  staring  at  nothing, 
taking  no  part  in  the  proceedings  except  to 
answer  to  his  name  absently  on  some  unimpor- 
tant roll-call.  Observing  so  little  himself,  he 
was  closely  observed  by  all  others,  whose 
interest  in  his  action  to-day  was  kindled 
afresh  by  the  unexpected  aspect  which  the 
troops  had  given  the  situation,  and  by  the 
reports  from  every  quarter,  that  in  view  of 
this  new  turn  of  affairs  he  would  now  fall 
into  line  and  elect  Judge  Majendie. 

"  Spurlock  seems  to  be  hard  hit,"  said  one 
of  Majendie's  men  to  another,  as  the  two 
eyed  "  the  bolter  ' '  a  few  seats  away.  "  Well, 
it  must  go  pretty  rough  with  him  to  lose  out 
at  the  very  last,  after  the  fight  he  has  made 
all  through  the  session.  But  we've  got  him 
sure  enough  this  time;  it's  as  plain  as  the 
look  on  his  face.  It'll  be  Senator  Majendie 
before  we  go  to  dinner." 


114  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

Spurlock's  first  impulse,  when  Judge  Ma- 
jendie  had  announced  himself  the  bearer  of 
the  seal,  was  one  of  stilling  surprise  and  ex- 
ultant joy. 

That  now,  of  all  times,  he  should  receive 
that  all-significant  token  from  Innis  Majen- 
die,  seemed  so  impossible  that  the  judge's 
assurance  had  left  Spurlock  in  that  arrested 
attitude  from  which  the  man  of  the  snake- 
track  reminiscence  had  aroused  him,  while 
under  his  exterior  tense  calm  coursed  the  tu- 
multuous current  of  his  realization  of  all  that 
the  judge's  assurance  meant.  For  it  was  in- 
evitable that  to  any  suggestion  of  his  seal's 
return,  however  and  whenever  such  a  sugges- 
tion might  be  made,  the  first,  if  fleeting,  re- 
sponse of  his  senses  should  leap  to  the  infer- 
ence that  she  whom  he  loved  had  taken  him 
at  his  word,  and  had  thus  signified  her  will- 
ingness that  he  should  again  plead  his  cause. 
But  with  him  now  that  response  was  fleeting, 
indeed;  for  reason  quickly  asserted  itself  and 
laid  bare  the  unyielding  improbability  of  any 
such  inference  as  that  which  for  a  moment 
had  so  whelmed  him.  He  had  not  seen  or 
heard  from  Innis  since  her  cool  reception  of 
him  at  Julia  Page's,  and  there  was  absolutely 
nothing  to  warrant  the  hope  that  she  cared 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  115 

more  for  him  now  than  she  had  when  he  had 
given  her  the  seal  the  preceding  summer.  On 
the  other  hand,  so  far  as  there  were  any  out- 
ward signs,  they  indicated  the  contrary.  But 
even  if  it  were  otherwise — if  it  could  be  that 
Innis  had  relented  and,  in  order  to  shorten 
the  ban  of  silence  under  which  she  had  virt- 
ually placed  him,  had  brought  herself  to 
take  the  method  which  he  had  urged  upon 
her,  she  was  not  the  girl  to  do  so  at  this 
particular  time,  in  view  of  the  relations 
between  himself  and  her  father,  and  the 
influence  on  those  relations  which  her  ac- 
tion might  be  misconstrued  as  intended  to 
effect. 

Spurlock  was  in  his  seat  in  the  House  when 
this  thought  crossed  his  mind,  and  his  chin 
sank  inward  in  self-contempt  that  such  a 
thought  could  come  to  him,  even  involuntar- 
ily. He  was  sure  that  Innis  Majendie  was 
incapable  of  attempting  to  move  him  as  her 
lover,  or  even  as  her  friend,  in  favor  of  her 
father,  as  devoted  to  her  father  as  Spurlock 
knew  her  to  be;  but  while  spurning  all  idea 
of  such  an  explanation  of  the  return  of  the 
seal  at  this  time,  he  scorned  himself  because 
he  was  conscious  of  it  long  enough  to  spurn 
it.  If  no  man  is  a  hero  to  his  valet,  how 


n6  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

much  less  is  any  man  with  a  normal  brain  a 
hero  to  himself? 

Spurlock  could  find  no  key  to  Judge  Ma- 
jendie's  words.  He  tried  to  recall  them 
precisely,  in  order  that  he  might  weigh  them 
more  accurately.  He  was  almost  certain  the 
judge  had  not  literally  said  that  Innis  had 
sent  the  seal,  but  that  was  the  only  inference 
that  had  been  impressed  upon  Spurlock  by 
what  the  judge  did  say,  and  that  was  the 
only  inference,  the  premises  considered,  that 
could  be  drawn.  No  one  knew,  Spurlock 
reasoned,  that  he  had  given  Innis  the  seal — 
no  one  but  herself,  unless  she  had  chosen  to 
share  her  knowledge  with  someone  else.  Had 
she  told  her  father?  Had  she  made  him  her 
messenger  ?  The  judge  had  said  he  had 
brought  back  the  seal ;  his  manner  had  in- 
dicated that  he  knew  the  import  of  its  res- 
toration to  Spurlock.  Did  he?  Was  the 
part  the  judge  was  taking  incidental  and 
honest,  or  was  it  another  of  his  paltry  tricks 
to  serve  his  own  ends  ?  Surely  it  was  too 
inexpressibly  small,  too  base,  although  Spur- 
lock had  come  to  believe  that  hardly  any- 
thing was  too  small  or  too  base  to  serve  the 
ends  of  those  who  had  plied  the  arts  of 
"politics"  at  Frankfort  for  the  last  few 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  117 

weeks.  After  all,  improbable  as  it  was,  the 
most  probable  assumption  was  that  Innis  had 
returned  the  seal  to  him  through  her  father, 
and  that  the  only  thing  it  could  mean,  in 
view  of  the  implied  understanding  with 
which  she  had  accepted  it,  was  that  she  had 
yielded  to  his  prayer  and  thus  confessed  to 
him  her  readiness  to  reconsider  the  answer 
she  had  given  him  when  he  had  asked  of  her 
everything. 

If  that  was  true,  if  that  glory  was  to  be 
his ! — but  why  had  she  chosen  this  time  to 
impart  it  to  him ;  why  had  she  chosen  this 
man  through  whom  to  impart  it?  Could 
it  be  that  in  her  love  for  her  father,  blind- 
ed and  directed  by  the  strongest  of  par- 
tisanship, that  of  the  feminine  heart,  she  in- 
nocently believed  that  her  lover's  personal 
relations  to  herself  would  and  should  de- 
termine his  public  relations  to  her  father? 
Spurlock  impatiently  drew  his  hand  across 
his  face,  as  if  to  clear  the  cobwebs  away. 
His  mind  was  groping  in  a  circle.  It  had 
staggered  back  to  the  very  point  where  at 
the  beginning  it  had  indignantly  rejected 
the  unbidden  thought  of  Innis  Majendie's 
possible  complicity  in  any  plan  to  influence 
his  vote. 


Ii8  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

"  May  God  forgive  me  ;  I  did  not  know 
I  was  so  unworthy  of  her !  ' '  was  almost 
on  his  lips  as  he  arose,  oppressed,  as  by  the 
close  atmosphere,  and  started  toward  the 
door. 

As  he  reached  it  a  detaining  hand  was 
laid  upon  his  arm,  and  looking  around  he 
saw  the  serious  face  of  Tot  Waugh  raised  in 
anxious  inquiry.  "  What's  the  matter  ?  Are 
you  sick?"  Tot  whispered.  "You  ain't 
goin'  to  leave  now,  are  you  ?  Look  at  the 
clock;  it's  time  for  the  joint  session !  " 

"That  is  true,  Tot;  I  had  not  noticed 
it." 

Already  there  was  the  tramp  of  the  State 
Senators  as  they  filed  into  the  House  for  the 
last  joint  session  to  ballot  for  a  United 
States  Senator,  and  Spurlock  turned  and 
went  back  to  his  seat. 

As  the  roll-call  for  the  ballot  began  there 
were  few  eyes  in  the  chamber  that  were  not 
fixed  upon  Spurlock.  A  deaf  man  across  the 
hall  from  Spurlock  preferred  to  watch  Tot 
Waugh.  "I've  a  little  scheme,"  he 
chuckled  to  a  member  sitting  near  him.  "  I 
can't  hear  Spurlock' s  vote  unless  he  an- 
nounces it  through  a  megaphone,  but  I'll 
know  as  soon  as  anybody  in  the  house 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  119 

whether  he  votes  for  Majendie.  All  I've 
got  to  do  is  to  keep  Waugh's  face  in  sight. ' ' 

As  the  call  progressed  this  is  what  the 
deaf  man  saw  :  Tot's  restless  eyes,  with  lids 
rapidly  and  irregularly  batting,  ranged  to 
and  fro  between  the  clerk  and  Spurlock ;  he 
fast  bit  to  pieces  an  unlighted  cigar,  sputter- 
ing the  fragments  to  the  floor  j  the  dull  red 
of  his  complexion  gave  place  to  a  dull  gray; 
the  perspiration  seeped  out  on  his  forehead. 
Suddenly  the  remnant  of  the  cigar  fell  from 
between  his  teeth,  his  gaze  quickly  deserted 
the  clerk  and  fastened  upon  Spurlock,  he 
leaned  far  forward  and  waited  intently  for 
two  seconds;  then  he  started  loosely,  as  a 
man  sometimes  does  when  struck  unexpect- 
edly between  the  shoulders  from  behind,  his 
lower  lip  fell,  the  moisture  on  his  forehead 
seemed  to  have  got  into  his  eyes,  when, 
with  a  shuffle  of  his  shoes  on  the  floor  as  he 
drew  himself  more  erect  in  his  seat,  he 
slowly  reached  for  his  handkerchief  and 
helplessly  blew  his  nose. 

"  That  settles  it !  "  said  the  deaf  man, 
aloud.  "  Majendie  will  never  be  Senator." 

It  was  not  necessary  to  look  upon  the 
blank  faces  of  the  Majendie  men  for  con- 
firmation. Spurlock  and  Waugh  voted  for 


I2O 

Thaxter  to  the  last,  and  the  Legislature  ad- 
journed without  electing  a  United  States 
Senator.* 

*  This  story  makes  no  pretensions  to  historical 
accuracy.  While  there  has  been  in  Kentucky  a 
Senatorial  contest  in  some  respects  similar  to  that  of 
this  narrative,  facts  have  here  been  freely  modified 
for  the  purposes  of  fiction.  The  characters  which 
figure  by  name  in  the  tale  are,  with  one  minor  and 
partial  exception,  imaginary,  and  it  must  not  be  as- 
sumed that  they  are  intended  as  either  portraits  or 
caricatures  of  real  persons. 


XIII 

BY  midnight  Spurlock  was  back  at  Airdrie. 
He  had  taken  the  first  train  from  Frankfort 
after  the  adjournment  of  the  Legislature,  his 
one  thought  now  being  to  see  Innis  Majendie 
and  learn  from  her  the  real  meaning  of  the 
seal's  return.  It  had  not  crossed  his  mind 
as  of  any  consequence  that  the  seal  had  not 
yet  been  returned.  Whatever  part  the  judge 
had  played  in  the  matter,  and  however  petty 
it  might  be,  that  he  had  deliberately  lied 
had  not  been  suspected  by  Spurlock.  Not 
that  Spurlock  believed  him  incapable  of 
lying  to  serve  his  political  plans,  but  in  this 
instance  his  possession  of  the  seal  was  an 
assumption  naturally  following  his  disclosure 
that  he  knew  anything  about  it,  and  his  inti- 
mation that  he  was  aware  of  its  significance. 
Spurlock  had  not  seen  him  since  they  had 
parted  at  the  entrance  of  the  Capitol  that 
morning  ;  his  only  object  now  was  to  go  di- 
rectly to  Innis. 

It  was  at  an  early  hour  next  day  that  after 
121 


122  "IF  I  WERE   A  MAN" 

a  brisk  gallop  he  dismounted  at  the  Majen- 
die  gate.  As  he  walked  up  the  avenue  of 
spruces,  between  the  old-fashioned  beds  of 
old-fashioned  flowers,  the  smooth  sward 
broken  by  the  deeper  green  of  the  shrubbery 
which  he  knew  was  Innis's  care,  and  the 
breeze  gently  stirring  the  dainty  curtains  at 
the  windows  which  he  knew  were  hers,  Spur- 
lock  for  the  moment  was  near  forgetting  all 
else  except  that  he  was  surrounded  by  sug- 
gestions of  her — the  things  she  daily  saw  and 
touched  and  loved — and  that  he  was  return- 
ing to  her.  But  the  jangle  of  the  door-bell 
as  he  rang  it  recalled  him  discordantly  to 
the  real  nature  of  his  doubtful  mission,  and 
as  the  door  opened  and  closed  upon  him  it 
was  as  if  it  had  shut  out  the  Innis  he  knew — 
the  Innis  of  the  summer  time  and  the  open 
air — and  had  shut  him  in  with  the  chill 
uncertainties  of  the  Innis  he  was  seeking  to 
know. 

He  waited  in  the  dim  light  while  the  ser- 
vant went  to  announce  him,  but  instead  of 
Innis,  for  whom  he  had  asked,  Judge  Ma- 
jendie  came  in  to  receive  him. 

The  judge  paused  in  the  doorway,  adjust- 
ing his  glasses  to  his  nose,  and  then  crossed 
to  the  windows  and  threw  open  the  blinds. 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  123 

He  turned  and  inspected  Spurlock  in  the 
light  thus  admitted  before  speaking. 

"Ah!  good-morning,  Mr.  Spurlock,"  he 
said.  "  The  servant  insisted  it  was  you,  but 
I  was  not  sure.  In  fact,  I  had  very  serious 
doubts  that  it  could  be  you." 

The  change  in  the  judge's  manner  was 
not  great,  but  it  was  not  imperceptible.  He 
had  never  before  addressed  Spurlock  as  "  Mr. 
Spurlock,"  and  while  his  face  wore  its  usual 
smile  and  his  tones  were  softened  by  their 
usual  suavity  it  was  easier  to  see  now  that 
his  smile  was  a  mask  and  his  suavity  an  af- 
fectation. 

"Yes,"  answered  Spurlock,  who  had  risen 
and  was  not  again  invited  to  sit  down,  "  I 
should  like  very  much  to  see  Miss  Innis  this 
morning." 

"  That  is — ar — unfortunate,  I  am  afraid. 
Innis  wishes  me  to  say  that  she  hopes  you 
will  excuse  her." 

Spurlock  flinched  slightly,  although  there 
was  nothing  to  indicate  that  the  judge  had 
noted  it  except  perhaps  a  glow  of  genuine- 
ness which  came  into  his  smile.  Redden- 
ing a  little,  and  slowly,  Spurlock  stared  in 
silence  at  the  judge,  as  if  awaiting  some 
qualifying  addition  to  his  words.  But  none 


124  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

came,  and  with  an  expression  of  regret  Spur- 
lock  bade  his  host  good-morning  and  turned 
to  leave. 

"One  moment,  Mr.  Spurlock,"  the  judge 
requested.  "  I  am  glad  you  came  by  to-day, 
for  it  gives  me  an  opportunity  to  say  to  you 
that  I — ar — was  mistaken  about  the  little  mat- 
ter of  which  I  spoke  to  you  when  I  saw  you 
last.  You  remember? — the — ar — watch-seal. 
Well,"  laughing,  "when  I  mentioned  it  to 
you  the  other  day,  I  was  under  the  impression 
that  it  was  yours.  I — ar — found  it  in  a 
crack  of  the  old  veranda  flooring,  out  there 
in  front  of  the  library  window,  and  thinking 
that  you  had  lost  it  on  some  of  your  visits 
here — for  I  was  quite  sure  I  had  seen  you 
wear  one  very  much  like  it — I  put  it  in  my 
pocket  with  the  intention  of'  restoring  it  to 
you  the  first  time  I  ran  across  you.  But  " — 
and  the  judge  suspended  his  words  in  his 
laughter  at  what  he  seemed  to  regard  an 
amusing  joke  on  himself — "  but,  on  my  re- 
turn from  Frankfort,  when  I  happened  to 
mention  my  find  to  Innis,  why,  to  my  dis- 
comfiture, she  informed  me  that  it  was  her 
own  property,  and  seemed  to  be  positively 
annoyed  that  I  should  have  thought  of  giv- 
ing it  to  you. ' ' 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  125 

Spurlock  could  not  help  smiling  at  the 
littleness  of  the  role  the  man  was  playing. 

"But,"  the  judge  continued  with  anoth- 
er interjection  of  laughter,  "  but,  seeing  she 
did  not  relish  my  comedy  of  errors,  I  was 
judicious  enough  not  to  tell  her  the  whole 
of  it.  I  did  not  confess  I  had  taken  her — 
ar — jewelry,  ha !  ha !  to  Frankfort  for  the 
purpose  of  turning  it  over  to  you.  And  I 
did  not  own  up  that  I  had  actually  informed 
you  in  so  many  words  that  I  had  brought 
it  up  for  you.  Fact  is,  Spurlock,  she  doesn't 
know  that  I  have  ever  said  a  word  to  you 
about  it.  I  am  too  old  a  lawyer  to  volun- 
tarily incriminate  myself,  aha  !  ha  !  " 

Spurlock  left  feeling  sure  that  in  most  of 
what  Majendie  had  said  about  the  seal  he 
had  lied.  Habitual  dissembler  that  he  was, 
he  had  completely  failed  in  making  much 
impression  of  sincerity  in  this  instance. 
Spurlock  did  not  believe  the  judge  had 
found  the  seal.  He  did  not  believe  now 
that  he  had  taken  it  to  Frankfort  at  all. 
About  all  of  the  story  he  did  believe  was  that 
Innis  was  ignorant  of  the  trick  her  father  had 
tried  to  play  through  his  proposition  to  re- 
turn the  seal.  That  Majendie  had  learned 
something  of  the  significance  of  the  seal, 


126  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

which  Spurlock  had  supposed  was  known 
only  to  Innis  and  himself,  was  evident. 
How  it  had  been  learned  Spurlock  did  not 
know,  and  probably  never  would  know. 
Nor  did  he  concern  himself  much  about 
that,  for  he  realized  now  that  the  incident 
was  but  one  of  the  strategical  manoeuvres  of 
the  "  Honorable  "  candidate  for  the  United 
States  Senate,  and  he  realized  further  that 
Innis  not  only  had  not  sent  for  him,  but 
that  she  had  declined  to  see  him  when  he 
called. 


XIV 

WITH  the  exception  of  a  distant  glimpse 
of  her  a  month  later,  Spurlock  did  not  see 
Innis  Majendie  for  two  years  and  a  half. 
The  exception  was  as  he  rode  out  from  Lou- 
isville one  afternoon.  He  had  opened  a  law 
office  in  the  city,  between  which  and  Air- 
drie  he  went  to  and  fro  daily.  Twice  a  day 
it  was  necessary  for  him  to  pass  the  home  of 
the  Majendies,  but  Innis  had  been  nowhere 
visible  until  this  particular  afternoon.  Then, 
when  the  house  came  into  view  two  hundred 
yards  up  the  road,  he  saw  her  sitting  on  the 
veranda.  His  eyes  strained  toward  her,  and 
even  that  far  away  he  fancied  he  could  see 
the  play  of  her  soft  hair  in  the  April  breeze. 
He  knew  he  could  see  the  flickering  sunlight 
as  it  sifted  down  on  her  through  the  young 
leaves,  and  he  was  sure  he  recognized  the 
dress  she  wore.  It  was  one  in  which  he 
remembered  her  under  the  flickering  sun- 
light and  young  leaves  of  the  preceding 
spring,  in  the  days  when  he  had  first  known 
127 


128  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

and  loved  her.  Just  then  someone  passed 
and  spoke  to  him,  and  when  he  turned  his 
eyes  again  to  the  veranda  all  that  he  beheld 
of  Innis  was  a  segment  of  the  dress  swiftly 
disappearing  in  the  doorway.  He  did  not 
doubt  that  she  had  hastily  vanished  at  sight 
of  him.  He  looked  off  to  the  left,  along  the 
vista  of  the  river,  burnished  by  the  horizon- 
tal sun  and  stretching  vaguely  between  undu- 
lant  reaches  of  shadowily  wooded  shore  till  it 
seemed  to  melt  in  mist  into  the  opalescent 
clouds  of  the  eastern  sky.  But  it  was  all  lost 
on  Spurlock  now  ;  for  he  had  a  sudden  feel- 
ing of  impatience  that  where  the  river  wound 
around  to  the  left  there  was  not  a  road  that  he 
could  use  in  passing  the  Majendies.  For  the 
moment  he  was  visited  with  a  grim  conceit 
that  he  was  a  trespasser  on  even  any  public 
road  that  took  him  in  the  unwelcome  sight 
of  the  girl. 

Already  he  was  encouraged  to  believe  he 
would  make  some  headway  in  the  law.  His 
service  in  the  Legislature  had  advertised  him 
well,  and  his  course  had  won  him  admirers, 
two  or  three  of  whom  had  thrown  some  busi- 
ness in  his  hands.  About  this  time  a  pros- 
perous merchant,  who  had  originally  come 
to  Louisville  from  the  mountains,  and  whose 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  129 

kinsmen  had  inherited  a  family  feud,  sought 
Spurlock,  whom  he  took,  as  he  explained,  to 
be  "a  man  of  sand,  as  well  as  sense,"  and 
employed  him  to  go  up  into  one  of  the 
mountain  counties  and  prosecute  three  or 
four  of  the  notorious  Raintrees,  who  had  been 
under  indictment  for  murder  several  years, 
but  who  had  thus  far  escaped  even  trial,  hav- 
ing killed  one  prosecuting  attorney  and  in- 
timidated other  officers  of  the  court.  Spur- 
lock  was  over  two  months  in  bringing  the 
Raintrees  to  justice,  and  when  he  got  back 
from  the  mountains  he  learned  that  Mrs. 
Majendie  had  died,  and  that  Innis  had  gone 
for  a  long  trip  abroad  with  Julia  Page  and 
her  mother.  And  in  less  than  a  year  Judge 
Majendie,  who  seemed  to  have  entirely  aban- 
doned political  ambition,  had  married  a  rich 
and  ever-bediamonded  woman,  who,  scarcely 
six  weeks  before,  had  secured  her  divorce  and 
alimony  in  his  court.  When  this  took  place 
Spurlock  for  once  was  glad  that  Innis  was  on 
the  other  side  of  the  world. 

Spurlock,  grubbing  away  at  his  law,  had 
seen  nothing  of  Sam  Dolliver  since  that  in- 
dividual had  been  shown  from  Spurlock' s 
room  at  Frankfort.  But  one  day,  a  little 
over  a  year  after  the  adjournment  of  the 


130  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

Legislature,  Dolliver  blandly  walked  into 
Spurlock's  office  and  greeted  him  as  if  they 
were  upon  the  pleasantest  terms. 

"  Howdydo,  Mr.  Spurlock  ? "  he  said, 
drawing  a  chair  nearer  to  Spurlock,  and  sit- 
ting down.  "  I'd  like  to  have  a  little  talk 
with  you  if  you've  got  a  few  minutes  to  spare." 

Spurlock  contemplated  his  visitor  silently 
at  first,  a  smile  coming  into  his  eyes.  Then 
he  inquired, 

"Well?" 

"You  see,  it's  this  way,  Mr.  Spurlock. 
Some  of  your  friends  is  wondering  why,  after 
you  made  such  a  brilliant  record  last  year  in 
the  Legislature,  you  don't  keep  on  in  pol- 
itics." 

"Out  with  it,  Dolliver.  What  is  it  you 
want  now  ?  ' ' 

"I  don't  want  nothing  myself,  Mr.  Spur- 
lock ;  but  there's  a  chance  for  you  to  do  the 
party  a  good  turn,  and  we  all  take  you  to  be 
the  man  to  do  it.  You  see  the  convention 
is  coming  on  pretty  close  now,  and  it  ain't 
no  small  job  to  get  the  right  men  for  so  many 
offices.  It's  only  a  county  and  city  elec- 
tion, and  no  national  issue  don't  cut  no  fig- 
ure in  it,  and  so  we  ought  to  be  able  to  get 
the  two  wings  of  the  party  together.  We  got 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  131 

to  get  them  together  to  win,  and  it's  mighty 
important  for  us  to  win,  with  every  paying 
office  in  the  county  to  be  filled." 

"  I  see,"  answered  Spurlock,  "  there  is  no 
principle  at  stake,  and  so  we  must  all  stand 
together  for  the  local  offices." 

"  A  party  that  don't  go  in  for  everything 
in  sight,  Mr.  Spurlock,  won't  be  able  long 
to  get  nothing.  Party  workers  has  got  to 
see  something  to  work  for,  and  when  there  is 
anything  good  to  be  passed  round,  a  party 
has  got  to  do  its  best  to  get  it  for  its  own 
supporters,  or  it  won't  have  supporters  enough 
long  to  carry  local  or  any  other  sort  of  elec- 
tions. What  we  want  now  is  to  get  the  best 
men  of  both  wings  of  the  party  on  our  ticket, 
and  harmonize  the  party,  and  we'll  sweep 
everything,  from  the  judges  and  the  mayor 
down  to  the  councilmen  and  the  constables. 
You  are  recognized  as  a  leader  of  one  wing, 
Mr.  Spurlock,  and  there  is  a — a  general  desire 
that  you  help  close  the  split,  and  go  on  the 
ticket.  Now,  there  is  the  chancery  judge- 
ship.  It's  a  nice  berth,  with  a  good  salary, 
and  you  will  be  doing  the  party  a  service  by 
accepting  the  nomination.  There's  twenty 
fellows  anxious  for  it,  but  it's  waiting  for 
you,  if  you'll  say  the  word." 


132  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

"  Why  not  the  commonwealth's  attorney- 
ship,  Dolliver  ?  "  asked  Spurlock,  levelling 
his  eyes  upon  Dolliver,  and  smiling  in  a  con- 
templative way. 

There  was  that  in  the  question  or  the  smile 
which  seemed  to  disturb  Dolliver  somewhat. 
He  crossed  and  recrossed  his  legs.  "  Well," 
he  replied,  stooping  down  and  picking  up  a 
pin  from  the  floor  before  continuing,  "you 
see,  we've  done  promised — that  is,  Yates 
already  has  such  a  lead  for  that  place  that  it 
would  be  impossible  to  head  him  off.  But 
chancellor  is  a  better  thing,  anyway." 

Spurlock's  smile  broadened.  "  Dolliver," 
he  said,  "didn't  Colonel  Oilman  tell  you  I 
would  have  nothing  to  do  with  your  ticket?" 

"  Colonel  Oilman  did  tell  me  you  would 
not  consent  to  run,  bufl  was  in  hopes  that 
when  you'd  come  to  think  it  over  you  would 
reconsider.  Colonel  Gilman  and  Colonel 
McLemore  and  General  Coburn  and  James 
B.  Strobe  and  nearly  all  the  prominent  Thax- 
ter  men  have  buried  the  hatchet  and  are  with 
us,  and  both  sides  is  going  to  reunite  and 
pull  together  for  victory.  And  they  are  all 
counting  on  you  to  help." 

"It  is  not  a  question  of  Thaxter  or  anti- 
Thaxter  men.  So  far  as  I  can  see,  it  is  not 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  133 

a  question  of  one  faction  or  another,  or  even 
of  one  party  or  another.  As  you  have  said, 
there  is  no  national  issue  involved.  It  seems 
to  me  simply  a  question  of  good  government 
or  bad  government ;  of  whether  the  people 
of  the  city  and  the  county  shall  choose  their 
own  officials  or  whether  Samuel  Dolliver  shall 
dictate  and  control  them." 

Dolliver  stuck  two  or  three  times 'into  the 
leather-covered  arm  of  his  chair  the  pin  which 
he  had  picked  up,  his  eyes  fixed  upon  the 
operation,  and  a  low,  nervous  laugh  parting 
his  lips. 

"Well,  Mr.  Spurlock,"  he  replied,  "that's 
the  old  story  that  my  enemies  always  falls 
back  on,  and  you  certainly  ain't  got  no  call 
to  be  one  of  them.  I  think  it's  the  duty  of 
every  good  citizen  to  take  a  active  part  in 
politics,  and  that's  what  I'm  trying  to  get 
you  to  do." 

"Dolliver,"  Spurlock  said,  settling  him- 
self comfortably  in  his  chair>  "I'm  pretty 
sure  I  understand  you,  and  I  want  you  to 
understand  me.  I  do  not  wish  to  wound 
your  sensibilities,  and  I  should  not  speak  if 
I  thought  I  should  do  that.  I  know  you 
very  much  better  now  than  when  you  came 
to  me  over  a  year  and  a  half  ago  and  asked 


134  "IF  I   WERE  A  MAN" 

me  to  run  for  the  Legislature.  I  know  that 
those  who  regard  you  as  wholly  bad  wrong 
you  ;  for  many  poor  people  love  you.  You 
spend  your  money  generously,  whatever  may 
be  the  methods  by  which  you  get  it.  You 
stand  by  your  friends,  and  you  keep  your 
promises ;  but  the  trouble  is  that  you  look 
upon  all  public  offices,  whether  elective  or 
appointive,  as  legitimate  assets  for  the  set- 
tlement of  your  personal  debts;  and  many 
of  those  who  style  themselves  '  the  better 
elements '  share  with  you  the  same  views. 
That  is  not  the  worst,  however.  You  pursue 
the  game  of  what  you  call  politics  not  only 
as  a  pleasure,  but  as  a  business.  You  not 
only  delight  in  the  power  to  parcel  out  '  pat- 
ronage,' but  you  make  it  pay  you.  You 
want  no  office  yourself,  but  you  have  ac- 
quired wealth  by  putting  men  in  office — men 
who  will  do  your  bidding.  You  claim  to  be 
a  strict  party  man  because  you  know  that  it  is 
through  strict  party  organization  that  you 
must  work  for  the  rewards  of  success.  You 
profess  to  be  a  Democrat,  and  yet  you  are  no 
more  a  Democrat  than  you  are  a  Republican 
or  a  Prohibitionist.  You  call  yourself  a  Dem- 
ocrat because  the  Democrats  have  long  been 
the  strongest  party  here ;  if  the  Republicans, 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  135 

or  the  Carlists,  had  been  the  strongest,  you 
would  have  been  a  Republican  or  a  Carlist. 
You  know  nothing  of  the  principles  of  any 
party,  and  you  would  sacrifice  the  principles 
of  all  parties  to  win  a  thousand  dollar  office 
for  some  confederate  of  yours,  or  to  put  some 
agent  of  yours  in  an  unsalaried  seat  in  the 
City  Council.  You  sent  Colonel  Oilman  to 
me  because  you  thought  a  request  from  him 
that  I  go  on  your  ticket  would  have  more 
weight  with  me  than  if  made  by  any  of  your 
gang.  You  use  men  like  Colonel  Gilman  in 
your  game  to  give  it  an  appearance  of  respect- 
ability, and  they  try  to  use  you  because  they 
believe  it  is  necessary  to  fight  fire  with  the 
devil  when  they  set  forth  as  political  reform- 
ers. You  must  have  thought  me  as  ignorant 
of  what  was  going  on  as  I  was  when  I  once 
went  on  one  of  your  tickets.  But  I  have 
been  expecting  this  visit  for  several  days, 
Dolliver.  I  happened  to  have  heard  of  a 
certain  meeting,  one  rainy  night  not  long 
ago,  over  a  certain  saloon,  in  which  you  and 
two  or  three  of  your  crew,  with  a  stool  pig- 
eon or  two  from  the  better  elements,  blocked 
out  the  whole  ticket  that  is  to  be  nominated 
by  the  convention.  I  know  that  every  name 
you  wished  on  that  ticket  was  agreed  to,  and 


136  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

that  if  it  be  nominated  and  elected  you  will 
retain  all  your  power  as  the  puppet-puller  of 
our  local  government,  and  you  and  all  your 
business  enterprises  will  be  safe  until  the  next 
election.  I  know  especially  that,  notwith- 
standing all  your  talk  about  the  importance 
of  winning  a  party  victory,  you  would  rather 
see  the  whole  ticket  beaten  than  see  it  elected 
without  men  of  your  own  choosing  for  cer- 
tain offices,  notably  that  of  commonwealth's 
attorney.  If  you  want  to  elect  me  common- 
wealth's attorney,  Dolliver,  go  ahead.  I 
promise  you  that  I  would  do  my  best  to  en- 
force the  laws,  and  I  am  confident  that  if  I 
should  succeed  in  enforcing  them  a  good 
many  of  your  friends  in  the  city  government, 
as  well  as  yourself,  would  be  transferred  to 
the  penitentiary.  Will  you  smoke?  " 

Spurlock  offered  Dolliver  a  cigar  and 
lighted  one  himself.  Dolliver  gave  the  pin 
a  final  shove  and  left  it  sticking  up  to  its 
head  in  the  leather  as  he  rose.  He  took  the 
cigar  and  said,  as  he  puffed  away  in  the 
blaze  of  the  match  : 

"  Well,  young  man,  I  see  you  ain't  learned 
nothing  in  the  last  year,  and  I'm  afraid  there 
ain't  no  use  talking  common-sense  to  you 
yet." 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  137 

"Perhaps  I  ought  to  add,  Dolliver," 
Spurlock  finished,  "  that  I  am  going  to  do 
what  little  I  can  to  defeat  your  ticket." 

Dolliver,  who  had  reached  the  door, 
paused  and  turned,  his  oily  face  wrinkled  by 
one  of  his  soft  laughs.  "  If  you  were  not  so 
hard  to  learn  you  wouldn't  do  that,"  he 
said.  "  You  are  too  green  in  politics  to  put 
up  much  of  a  fight  against  the  whole  organi- 
zation of  a  great  party.  Besides,  most  peo- 
ple will  call  your  opposition  a  case  of  sour 
grapes  when  they  hear  that  you  wanted  the 
nomination  for  commonwealth's  attorney, 
but  was  turned  down." 

Spurlock  could  not  help  laughing  at  this. 
"You  score  the  first  trick,  Dolliver.  Take 
another  cigar." 


XV 

SPURLOCK  lost  no  time  in  getting  to  work 
against  what  was  already  known  as  Dolliver's 
"slate."  The  convention  was  less  than  a 
month  away,  and  while  Spurlock  realized 
the  apparently  absolute  hopelessness  of  trying 
to  prevent  the  nomination  of  the  ticket,  he 
believed  that  a  fight  against  it  in  the  con- 
vention would  at  least  serve  to  weaken  it  be- 
fore the  people  by  exposing  the  undemocratic 
character  of  its  origin.  He  found  in  the 
city,  and  in  the  county,  a  strong,  but  inac- 
tive and  unorganized  sentiment  against 
"  Dolliverism."  "  Good  citizens  "  were 
emphatic  in  their  protestation  against  the 
lawless  rule  of  Dolliver,  yet  were  passive 
in  their  submission  to  it.  Representatives 
of  "the  business  interests"  complained  of 
the  burden  with  which  they  were  inflicted  by 
Dolliver's  prostitution  of  power,  and  yet 
confessed  that  they  did  not  even  take  the 
time  to  go  to  the  polls,  as  they  felt  sure  that 
their  votes  against  "the  gang"  would  not 
138 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  139 

be  counted.  Many  worthy  and  respected 
men  denounced  the  "  Dolliver  ring"  as 
"infamous,"  and  insisted  that  the  only  way 
to  combat  it  was  with  its  own  weapons  of 
bribery,  fraud,  and  force.  Members  of  the 
Municipal  Reform  Club  listened  sympathet- 
ically to  Spurlock  and  invited  him  to  join 
the  club,  which  gave  annual  banquets  at 
which  thoughtful  papers  on  good  city  gov- 
ernment were  read  and  discussed.  Among 
all  these,  however,  Spurlock  met  some  who 
were  earnest  enough  and  practical  enough  to 
co-operate  with  him  in  a  zealous  and  system- 
atic effort  to  get  out  a  representative  attend- 
ance at  the  ward  conventions  which  were 
to  select  the  delegates  to  the  county  con- 
vention. 

This  effort  was  so  successful  that  several 
of  the  ward  meetings  were  much  larger  than 
usual,  containing  many  faces  new  in  such 
gatherings.  In  two  of  the  wards  the  anti- 
Dolliver  men  were  so  strong  that  no  attempt 
was  made  by  the  Dolliverites  to  name  the 
delegates  to  the  county  convention ;  in  an- 
other ward  less  than  a  dozen  of  Dolliver's 
retainers  seceded  and  held  a  separate  meet- 
ing ;  while  in  a  fourth  ward,  one  of  Dolli- 
ver's ruffians  rushed  up  and  tried  to  knock 


14°  "  IF  I  WERE  A  MAN  " 

from  the  platform  the  regularly  elected  chair- 
man and  was  himself  knocked  from  it  by  the 
Hon.  Tottenham  Waugh,  who,  though  no 
longer  a  resident  of  the  city,  had  come  in 
from  Airdrie,  where  he  held  the  sinecure  of 
Assistant  Manager,  to  look  on  at  the  delib- 
erations of  one  of  the  ward  primaries. 

When  the  county  convention  met,  how- 
ever, the  Dolliver  men  so  outnumbered  their 
opponents  that  the  anti-Dolliver  delegations 
from  all  four  of  these  wards  were  summarily 
thrown  out  and  Dolliverites  were  as  sum- 
marily seated  in  their  places.  This  was  such 
a  flagrant  and  even  needless  outrage  that  it 
greatly  incensed  and  increased  the  opposition 
to  the  Dolliver  Slate,  and  the  fight  against 
it,  which  had  been  started  by  Spurlock  and 
his  associates  prior  to  the  convention,  was 
continued  with  all  the  more  energy  after- 
ward. Even  the  Municipal  Reform  Club 
held  a  special  meeting,  sans  banquet  and 
treatises,  and  resolved  to  put  a  "  Citizens' 
Ticket"  in  the  field,  and,  as  one  of  the 
speakers  expressed  it,  "  take  off  our  coats  and 
work  for  it  till  the  polls  close  on  Election 
Day."  Spurlock  espoused  this  ticket.  There 
was  no  other  choice.  It  is  true  that  the 
Republican  "machine"  had  also  nominated 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN   "  141 

a  ticket,  but  there  was  little  difference  be- 
tween it  and  that  of  the  Democrats,  either 
in  origin,  personality,  or  purpose,  while  the 
Citizens'  Ticket,  made  up  of  reputable  men 
of  all  parties,  most  of  whom  had  never  sought 
and  did  not  care  for  office,  was  certainly  one 
to  command  the  approbation  of  those  who 
desired  that  public  affairs  should  be  admin- 
istered for  the  public  good  instead  of  for  the 
profit  of  the  administrators. 

Spurlock  threw  himself  into  the  campaign 
for  this  ticket  with  zest  and  energy.  He 
was  a  novice  in  such  work  and  he  had  little 
conception  of  the  difficulty  of  carrying  to 
success  an  "independent"  ticket  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  regular  party  organizations  con- 
trolling the  election  machinery,  and  under 
an  election  law  devised  to  discourage  such 
opposition.  Simply  believing  that  the  ticket 
should  win  and  that  the  others  should  be 
beaten,  he  did  what  he  could  to  effect  those 
results. 

He  soon  found  that  he  had  taken  the  lead 
in  this  work.  The  Municipal  Reform  Club 
seemed  to  rely  more  upon  the  indignation 
which  Dolliver's  convention  had  aroused 
and  upon  the  merits  of  the  Citizens'  Ticket 
itself  than  upon  any  active  efforts  in  its  be- 


142  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

half,  and  it  devolved  upon  Spurlock,  aided 
by  those  who  had  stood  with  him  in  the 
fight  against  Dolliver  before  the  meeting  of 
the  convention,  to  form  an  organization  for 
systematically  pushing  the  canvass.  This 
done,  he  took  the  "  stump,"  making  a  series 
of  speeches  which  Tot  Waugh  pronounced 
"  the  greatest  that  ever  come  down  the  pike." 
But  wishing  to  reach  a  wider  audience  than 
he  could  secure  in  this  way,  it  was  not  long 
before  he  had  started  a  newspaper.  Both 
the  other  tickets  had  advocates  among  the 
journals  of  the  city,  but  the  Citizens'  Ticket 
was  without  an  "  organ  "  until  Spurlock  be- 
gan the  publication  of  The  Standard.  The 
Standard  was  launched  as  a  weekly,  but  its 
second  number  had  not  been  issued  before 
Spurlock  realized  that  in  such  work  as  he 
had  to  do  the  press  was  not  a  hammer  that 
drove  the  nails  of  truth  home  at  one  stroke, 
or  a  few  strokes,  but  that  to  be  most  effective 
its  blows  must  be  frequent  as  well  as  con- 
stant. Hence  The  Standard  became  a  daily. 
It  was  a  big  undertaking  for  one  who  had 
no  journalistic  experience  outside  of  his  col- 
lege magazine,  but  Spurlock  had  sense 
enough  to  employ  trained  newspaper  men  to 
take  the  executive  places  on  The  Standard, 


"  IF  I  WERE  A  MAN  "  143 

while  he  devoted  himself  to  the  editorial 
page,  bringing  to  it  a  straightforward  force 
and  fairness  that  undoubtedly  accomplished 
much  for  the  Citizens'  Ticket.  Indeed,  it 
so  disturbed  some  of  Dolliver's  nominees 
that  Dolliver  himself,  though  in  no  sense 
alarmed,  began  to  believe  that  he  had  made 
a  mistake  in  allowing  his  convention  to 
ruthlessly  eject  the  opposition  delegates. 
There  were  many  to  say  that  in  permitting 
that  action  Dolliver,  shrewd  politician  that 
he  was,  for  once  had  stupidly  blundered,  al- 
though they  should  not  forget  that  he  had 
reason  for  such  confidence  in  his  own  re- 
sources that  he  felt  he  could  safely  indulge 
his  followers  in  their  desire  to  wreak  this 
petty  vengeance  upon  the  "  Silk  Stockings  " 
and  "White  Wings,"  an  indulgence  which 
at  the  same  time  served  to  inflame  the  ardor 
of  the  party  "  workers,"  on  whom  so  much 
depended. 


XVI 

The  Standard  was  about  two  months  old 
when  Colonel  Cash  Bulliard  came  to  town 
on  the  loudly  avowed  mission  to  "do  up 
the  hell-spawned  sheet."  Dolliver  was  dis- 
posed to  pooh-pooh  the  paper,  but  to  many 
of  his  satellites  it  was  clearly  a  source  of 
irritation  and  apprehension.  Spurlock  had 
reason  to  know  this,  for  there  were  few  mails 
that  did  not  bring  him  badly  written,  anony- 
mous notes,  warning  him  to  do,  or  not  to  do, 
this  or  that,  on  penalty  of  the  horse-whip,  or 
of  tar  and  feathers,  of  arson,  or  assassination. 
Spurlock  paid  less  attention  to  these  than 
Dolliver  professed  to  pay  to  The  Standard, 
going  on  with  his  work  and  keeping  it  up  to 
the  high  plane  upon  which  he  had  pitched 
it  from  the  first,  shunning  all  personality  of 
a  private  nature  and  ignoring  all  shafts  or 
bludgeons  of  personal  vilification  and  men- 
ace aimed  at  himself.  But  Colonel  Cash 
Bulliard  was  not  a  man  to  hide  behind 
anonymous  notes.  From  time  to  time  since 
144 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  145 

the  birth  of  The  Standard  there  had  come 
up  from  "  the  Pennyrile,"  where  Colonel 
Cash  Bulliard  ranged,  ominous  rumblings  of 
what  he  was  going  to  do  to  "  that  bastard 
hand-bill"  when  he  arrived  in  town.  And 
now  Colonel  Bulliard  had  arrived  ;  for  Spur- 
lock  had  been  informed  by  Tot  Waugh  that 
he  had  seen  with  his  own  eyes  the  colonel, 
in  full  voice,  occupying  two  chairs,  where 
chairs  were  in  great  demand  by  the  local 
and  country  statesmen  known  as  the  Patch- 
work Club,  which  for  years  had  maintained 
the  rights  of  squatter  sovereignty  on  the 
pavement  in  front  of  a  certain  hotel,  within 
unobstructed  and  stimulating  view  of  those 
Meccas  of  "  party-line"  patriots,  the  court- 
house, the  city  hall,  and  the  jail. 

Colonel  Bulliard  had  been  a  fellow- cam- 
paigner with  Dolliver  on  many  a  hard-fought 
political  field,  and  was  an  extravagant  ad- 
mirer of  the  Louisville  "boss."  He  be- 
lieved that  in  his  own  party  everything  was 
right,  and  in  all  other  parties  everything 
was  wrong.  It  was  his  boast  that  he  took 
his  liquor  and  his  politics  "straight,"  and 
it  was  his  creed  that  if  anything  was  worse 
than  a  "  Mugwump  "  it  was  a  bolter.  He 
considered  Spurlock  both.  "  The  fellow  is 


146  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

a  fish-blooded  Mugwump, ' '  the  colonel  had 
been  known  to  characterize  Spurlock — "a 
Mugwump  because  he  manufactures  his  own 
principles,  which  he  grades  as  better  than 
anybody  else's,  and  a  bolter  because  he  pro- 
fesses to  belong  to  the  Democratic  party  and 
yit  kicks  out  of  the  traces  the  fust  time  the 
road  don't  run  to  suit  him."  Colonel  Bul- 
liard  had  learned  to  abhor  Spurlock  during 
the  Majendie  campaign  at  Frankfort.  He 
had  been  a  conspicuous  member  of  the 
judge's  lobby,  and  in  his  interest  had  re- 
mained at  the  capital  throughout  the  session 
of  the  Legislature.  He  was  violently  de- 
monstrative when  displeased,  and  it  had 
been  generally  credited  at  Frankfort  that 
only  the  cooler  counsel  and  vigilant  inter- 
position of  men  like  Dolliver  and  Majendie 
had  prevented  the  colonel  from  seeking 
Spurlock  and  making  good  the  threat  to 
"carve  his  heart  out."  From  one  end  of 
the  State  to  the  other,  Colonel  Cash  Bull- 
iard  had  the  reputation  of  being  "a  dan- 
gerous man."  It  was  not  known  how 
many  people  he  had  killed ;  indeed,  it  was 
not  known  that  he  had  killed  any;  but 
there  were  many  grewsome  rumors  of  the 
"mortalities"  which  marked  the  path  he 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  147 

had  mowed  through  life,  and  there  was  a 
prevalent  belief  that  there  were  few  States 
in  the  Southwest  in  which  he  had  not  left 
some  slice  of  the  human  beings  he  had 
"carved"  in  his  various  "personal  ren- 
counters." There  were  stories  to  fill  a  vol- 
ume told  of  his  prowess,  one  of  the  most  re- 
cent being  of  the  day  at  the  race-track  when, 
disgusted  at  the  poor  odds  offered  against 
the  horse  he  wished  to  back,  he  drew  his 
knife — a  beautiful  cross  between  a  razor  and 
a  bowie — and  "went  down  the  line,"  driv- 
ing from  his  box  every  bookmaker  until  he 
reached  one  who  had  posted  more  liberal 
figures  than  the  others,  to  whom  the  colonel, 
after  placing  his  bet,  presented  the  wonder- 
ful knife,  "  with  the  compliments  of  Colonel 
Cash  Bulliard  to  the  only  man  in  the  ring 
who  wouldn't  use  it  to  trim  odds  or  peel 
apples. ' ' 

It  was  between  two  and  three  o'clock 
on  the  night  following  the  day  when  Tot 
Waugh  had  reported  the  appearance  in  the 
city  of  Colonel  Cash  Bulliard.  Spurlock, 
in  his  office  on  the  top  floor  of  The  Stand- 
ard building,  had  finished  his  work  and 
had  picked  up  a  foreign  paper  in  which  he 
had  discovered,  and  was  reading  over  and 


148  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

over,  a  paragraph  announcing  the  arrival  in 
Antwerp  of  Mrs.  and  Miss  Page  and  Miss 
Majendie.  The  telephone  in  the  corner 
rang  several  times  before  he  rose  and  an- 
swered it. 

"  Hello  !  is  this  The  Standard?"  came 
in  an  unrecognizable  voice  over  the  wires. 

"  Yes,"  Spurlock  replied. 

"  Is  Spurlock  there?  " 

"This  is  Spurlock." 

"Oh!  Are  you  at  leisure  for  a  few 
minutes  ? ' ' 

"  If  you  come  in  the  next  half  hour." 

"  You  are  in  yo'  own  office,  are  you  ?  " 

"lam." 

"  Is — er — is  anybody  else  there  ?  " 

"There  is  not." 

"  Not  likely  to  be  no  one  else  soon  ?  " 

"  Not  that  I  know  of." 

"Good!  It's  a  private  matter,  you 
know,  and  I  wanted  to  be  sho'  befo'  climb- 
in"  them  stairs." 

Spurlock  went  back  to  his  seat  and  to  the 
paper  which  he  had  dropped.  He  found  the 
paragraph  again,  but  about  that  time  Tot 
Waugh  came  in  and,  seating  himself  on  one 
corner  of  Spurlock's  desk,  asked  if  "we" 
were  going  to  have  anything  "great"  in 


"  IF  I  WERE  A  MAN  "  149 

the  morning's  Standard.  Tot  was  decidedly 
the  "we"  of  The  Standard.  Whether  it 
was  among  the  populace  of  the  streets  or  in 
the  office  of  the  paper,  it  was  always  "  we  " 
when  Tot  spoke  of  The  Standard.  It  was 
"  we  are  goin'  to  have  a  great  editor'al  to- 
morrow," or,  "  that  was  hot  stuff  we  had 
to-day."  It  was  his  delight  to  read  a  galley 
proof  of  Spurlock's  leader  for  the  next  morn- 
ing and  then  go  out  among  the  groundlings 
and  boast  of  the  main  points  of  "  the  corker 
we're  goin'  to  have  in  The  Standard  to- 
morrow ;  "  while  his  scorn  for  anyone  who 
had  not  read  the  corker  we  had  in  The 
Standard  to-day,  or  yesterday,  or  last  week, 
was  supreme. 

He  was  no  longer  at  Airdrie.  It  was  im- 
possible that  he  should  remain  in  the  coun- 
try while  a  political  campaign  was  going  on 
in  town.  He  had,  therefore,  resigned  his 
sinecure  of  Assistant  Manager  of  Airdrie,  and 
Spurlock  had  provided  another  sinecure  for 
him  as  night  watchman  of  The  Standard. 
Hence,  in  sharing  the  editorial  "we"  of 
that  journal,  he  did  not  speak  as  one  with- 
out authority. 

He  was  sitting  on  Spurlock's  desk,  swing- 
ing his  heels  against  its  side  by  way  of  punct- 


150  "IF  I   WERE  A  MAN" 

uating  the  story  he  was  telling  of  the  "slick 
work  ' '  he  had  done  that  day  in  ' '  sowing 
tacks",  under  one  of  Dolliver's  "rubber- 
tired  "  excursions  into  the  Thirteenth  Ward, 
when  the  door  was  opened  and  Colonel 
Cash  Bulliard,  followed  by  Councilman 
Clum  Koots,  entered.  Colonel  Bulliard  was 
a  man  of  about  forty-five,  large  and  well- 
made,  but  who  would  have  been  more  im- 
pressive physically  if  his  flesh  had  been  of 
a  firmer  texture.  His  long  head  seemed 
lengthened  further  still  by  his  thick,  iron- 
gray  hair,  which  bristled  straight  up  from 
his  forehead.  His  florid  face  was  given  a 
fierce  cast  by  the  manner  in  which  he  wore 
his  beard,  his  chin  and  lower  jaws  being 
shaven  and  his  "  mutton-chops,"  instead  of 
having  the  usual  downward  growth,  being 
trained  aggressively  upward.  He  was  clad 
in  a  suit  of  tow  -  linen,  and  would  have 
looked  neat  enough  but  for  the  immense 
watch-chain  that  swung  across  his  stomach 
and  for  the  diamonds  and  dirt  he  wore  on 
his  expansive  white  shirt-bosom.  Council- 
man Columbus  Koots,  known  throughout 
the  city  as  Clum  Koots,  was  shorter  than 
the  colonel,  thick  and  square-shouldered, 
with  a  neck  of  great  circumference  and  no 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  151 

length,  on  which  was  set  a  mansard-roofed 
head,  punctured  by  small  eye-sockets  very 
near  the  line  where  his  hair  began.  Clum 
Koots  was  a  hopeful  disciple  of  Colonel  Bul- 
liard,  and  only  a  few  days  before  had  adopted 
some  of  the  colonel's  tactics.  Being  a  can- 
didate for  re-election  to  the  City  Council  on 
Dolliver's  ticket,  and  The  Standard  having 
produced  conclusive  proof  of  the  sale  of 
his  vote  in  the  Council  in  favor  of  one  of 
Dolliver's  jobs,  resulting  in  Clum's  indict- 
ment by  the  grand  jury,  he  had  publicly 
proclaimed  that  he  would  go  to  the  office  of 
The  Standard  and  "make  that  blackmailin' 
sheet  eat  its  lies,  or  would  cut  off  the  ears  of 
OgdenSpurlock." 

As  the  colonel  and  Clum  came  in,  Tot 
Waugh,  recognizing  them  over  his  shoulder, 
slid  from  his  perch  and  faced  them,  his  eyes 
sparkling  with  anticipation  of  the  "  fun  "  at 
hand.  Spurlock,  keeping  his  seat,  looked 
up  inquiringly. 

"  Well,  young  man,"  was  Colonel  Bull- 
iard's  greeting  in  somewhat  shortened 
breath,  "I'd  either  negotiate  for  a  elevator 
or  move  the  shebang  into  the  suller.  But 
now's  we're  up  here,  say,  Spurlock,  we'd  like 
to  have  a  little  talk  with  you."  To  which 


152  '  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

Clum  Koots,  wrinkling  between  the  eyes, 
nodded  approval. 

"Sit  down,  gentlemen,"  Spurlock  said, 
motioning  to  chairs ;  "I  am  at  your  ser- 
vice." 

The  colonel  looked  at  the  chairs  and  then 
looked  at  Tot  Waugh  ;  Clum  looked  at  the 
chairs  and  then  looked  at  Tot  Waugh. 

"Hullo,  Cash!  Hullo,  Clum!"  Tot 
grinned. 

"  You  telephoned  me  that  there  was  no 
one  here,"  Colonel  Bulliard  reminded  Spur- 
lock  ;  "I'd  like  to  see  you  alone  on  a  little 
private  business." 

"  Certainly,"  Spurlock  assented.  "  Tot, 
take  Mr.  Koots  into  the  front  room.  You 
might  show  him  some  of  the  exchanges  while 
he  is  waiting." 

"  Oh,  that's  all  right ;  that's  all  right !  " 
the  colonel  demurred.  "  There's  no  reason 
why  Clum  shouldn't  know  any  business  I 
have  with  you." 

"  As  you  please,"  Spurlock  replied.  "And 
there's  no  reason  why  Tot  shouldn't  know 
any  business  I  have  with  you.  Won't  you 
be  seated,  gentlemen  ?  ' ' 

Tot's  grin  widened,  and  he  threw  a  leg 
again  over  a  corner  of  the  desk  as  he  con- 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  153 

tinued  to  gaze  upon  the  visitors.  Clum  was 
motionless  and  expressionless  ;  but  the 
colonel  grew  a  little  redder,  and,  resting 
one  foot  on  the  rung  of  a  chair,  scrutinized 
Spurlock  with  a  frown  for  several  seconds. 
Then  he  turned  to  Koots.  "  Oh,  well, 
Clum,  you  go 'long  with  Waugh,"  he  ordered, 
impatiently  ;  "I  can  manage  my  part  of  it 
easy  enough  by  myself;  and  when  I  am 
through  you  can  have  yo'  say.  Go  on,  and 
lemme  git  done  with  it." 

Clum  turned  stolidly  to  Tot,  and  Tot 
looked  to  Spurlock  for  instruction. 

"Accompany  him  into  the  next  room, 
Tot,"  Spurlock  directed,  "and  entertain 
him  until  I  call  for  you.  In  the  meantime 
you  are  to  let  no  one  come  in  here  to  disturb 
Colonel  Bulliard  and  myself — no  one  at  all." 

Spurlock's  office  was  reached  through  a 
small  antechamber  that  opened  into  a  long 
corridor,  down  which  the  nearest  sign  of  life 
at  this  late  hour  was  in  the  city  room,  occu- 
pied now  by  a  lone  reporter  on  the  last 
watch.  As  Tot  Waugh,  with  Koots,  made 
his  unwilling  departure,  he  did  not  resist  the 
temptation  to  leave  the  door  slightly  ajar, 
and  Colonel  Bulliard,  who  was  standing 
near,  closed  it,  at  the  same  time  turning  the 


154  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

lock  and  removing  the  key.  As  the  colonel 
advanced  from  the  door  the  hand  with  which 
he  had  dropped  the  key  into  his  pocket  in- 
stantly reappeared  clasping  a  forty-four  cali- 
bre revolver,  whose  gleaming  barrel  pointed 
straight  at  Spurlock's  head. 

"  Make  a  move  to  take  yo'  hands  off  that 
table,"  was  Bulliard's  warning,  in  a  low, 
fierce  voice,  "  or  make  the  least  fuss,  and,  by 
God,  I'll  pull  the  trigger!  " 

Spurlock  was  sitting  by  his  desk,  his  left 
arm  resting  on  its  flat  top,  and  his  right 
hand  beating  with  a  penholder  an  idle  tattoo 
on  the  inkstand.  He  looked  into  the  muz- 
zle of  the  pistol,  now  just  across  the  desk, 
and  into  the  flashing  eyes  and  distorted,  pal- 
ing visage  just  beyond. 

''Be  careful,  man,"  he  said;  "your 
nerves  are  still  unsteady  from  climbing  those 
stairs." 

"  They  are  steady  enough  to  plug  you 
square  between  the  eyes  unless  you  be  care- 
ful and  obey  my  orders. ' ' 

"  Well,  I've  obeyed  them  so  far.  I  have 
neither  removed  my  hands  from  the  table, 
nor  made  a  fuss." 

Bulliard's  tense  expression  relaxed  percep- 
tibly, his  big  chest  rose  with  an  extended  in- 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  155 

halation,  and  there  were  even  symptoms  of  a 
smile  about  his  mouth  and  eyes  as  he  spoke. 

"  Good,  so  far.  But  there's  a  lot  mo'  to 
come ;  and  you  want  to  be  just  as  careful 
about  that." 

"  Go  on,  then,  and  don't  stand  there  all 
night  poking  that  thing  in  my  face." 

"  Well,  you  see,  young  man,  I've  had  an 
idee  for  some  time  that  I'd  take  a  whirl  at 
editin'  The  Standard,  and  I've  come  up  to 
edit  her  for  this  isher." 

Spurlock  looked  at  him  in  wonder,  and 
then  with  a  slight  laugh  said,  "You'd  bet- 
ter get  to  work  then,  for  this  issue  will  be  on 
the  press  in  less  than  an  hour  now." 

"  I  know  it.  Oh,  I  know  all  that," 
laughing  shortly  and  harshly.  "I've  got  a 
workin'  knowledge  of  the  modus  operandies. 
You  wasn't  aware  I'd  took  a  co'se  in  journal- 
ism already,  was  you  ?  Well,  you  see,  I  laid 
around  the  street  to-day  till  I  see  you  come 
out  to  go  and  feed,  and  then  I  clum  them 
damn  stairs  and  found  my  way  in  here,  and 
the  nigger  po'ter  was  cleanin'  up  things  and 
showed  me  round  and  told  me  all  about  it 
— when  the  paper  closes  up,  and  when  she 
is  struck  off,  and  how  you  raise  the  lid  of 
that  little  hole  in  the  wall  over  there  and 


156  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

drop  yo'  writin'  into  it,  and  the  stuff  goes 
straight  to  the  printers  and  comes  out  in  the 
paper  sho-pop  next  mornin'.  Oh,  I  know  a 
thing  or  two  about  editin',  don't  I  ?  " 

"  It  seems  so,"  Spurlock  smiled.  "  And 
are  you  going  to  drop  some  of  your  writing 
into  the  hole  in  the  wall  for  this  morning's 
Standard  t" 

"  Not  much  !  Not  much-ee  !  But  I'm 
a-goin'  to  drop  some  of  yo'  writin'  in  it. 
The  printers  mightn't  recognize  my  writin' 
as  the  editor's;  but  they  wouldn't  fail  to 
put  yo'  stuff  into  the  paper ;  see  ?  Do  I 
know  anything  about  editin'  or  not ;  hey?  " 

Spurlock,  balancing  the  holder  on  the  pen- 
rack,  answered,  reflectively : 

"  You  certainly  seem  to  have  mastered  the 
mysteries  of  the  hole  in  the  wall." 

"  Well,  le's  git  to  work.  Here,  take  that 
pen  there  and  write  what  I  tell  you." 

Bulliard  threw  upon  the  desk  a  long  slip 
of  paper,  on  which  was  a  printed  column  of 
names,  and  Spurlock  saw  at  a  glance  that  it 
was  the  full  Dolliver  ticket. 

"  Write  on  the  margin  of  that,  across  the 
top :  '  Take  the  Citizens'  ticket  out  and  put 
this  in — '  write,  I  tell  you  !  " 

The   colonel's  voice  swelled,    his    color 


-  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  157 

darkened,  his  pistol  inched  nearer  Spurlock's 
head.  Spurlock  at  first  made  no  motion  to 
obey,  but  sat  staring  at  the  colonel  with  eyes 
which  suddenly  lighted  in  comprehension  of 
the  scheme.  He  had  not  thought  the  colonel 
capable  of  originating  such  a  stroke.  To 
obey  him  was  to  throw  The  Standard  to  the 
support  of  the  Dolliver  ticket — at  least  for 
one  day ;  and  if  only  for  one  day,  still 
that,  and  the  story  of  how  it  was  done, 
would,  of  course,  make  the  paper  a  laughing- 
stock and  utterly  destroy  its  influence.  To 
disobey — there  was  no  telling  what  that  ex- 
cited fool  with  his  pistol — 

"Write,  I  tell  you!"  thundered  the 
colonel. 

Spurlock  picked  up  the  pen  and  held  it, 
waiting,  over  the  circular. 

"  Write  what  I  say  now  :  '  Take  the  Citi- 
zens' ticket  out  and  put  this  in  its  place  in  to- 
day's  Standard,  without  fail.1  ' 

Spurlock  wrote. 

"  Now  sign  yo'  name  to  it;  and  remem- 
ber, no  disguisin'  yo'  handwritin'.  I  know 
it  well,  and  won't  have  no  monkeyin'." 

Spurlock  signed  his  name  and  waited  for 
the  next  step,  keeping  his  left  hand  on  the 
circular. 


158  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

"  Now  take  a  blank  sheet  of  paper  there," 
the  colonel  ordered;  "I've  got  a  little 
leader  to  write." 

Spurlock  did  as  demanded. 

"Set  down  what  I  dictate  now:  '  The 
Standard  henceforth  -will  be  a  straight  party 
paper.  It  will  fight  for  the  party  and  the 
party  nominations  through  thick  and  thin. 
Hence  it  hoists  to  its  masthead  this  morniri 
the  regular  party  ticket,  and  calls  upon  all  its 
friends  to  stand  by  it  till  the  close  of  the  polls 
in  November,  and  vote  for  every  name  on  it, 
from  top  to  bottom. ,'  ' 

Spurlock 's  pen  scratched  regularly  over 
the  paper,  stopping  a  few  seconds  after  Bull- 
iard  had  finished. 

"Now  write  on  the  margin,  to  yo'  fo'- 
man  :  '  Put  this  in  without  fail  this  morniif . 
/  sfta'n't  wait  to  look  over  it. — SPURLOCK.' 
That'll  about  cover  the  case,  I  reckon,  for 
this  isher.  You  can  run  her  yo'self,  as  you 
damn  please,  after  this  isher,"  Bulliard 
leered.  "Now  we'll  jus'  shove  these  into 
the  hole  in  the  wall,  and  then  set  in  here 
and  chat  until  the  paper  comes  out  and  the 
boys  is  yelpin'  it  on  the  streets.  I  reckon 
you'll  be  quiet  as  long  as  I  keep  a  bead  on 
you,  and  I  reckon  we  won't  be  disturbed,  as 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  159 

you  done  give  strict  orders  to  yo'  man 
Waugh  not  to  admit  no  one — thanky,  sir  !  " 

Spurlock  sat  with  his  left  hand  lying  on 
both  the  sheets  of  paper  on  which  he  had 
written,  awaiting  Bulliard's  next  move,  and 
recalling  a  newspaper  "  interview"  with  the 
colonel  he  had  once  seen,  which,  with  a 
picture  of  the  colonel's  notorious  knife,  ex- 
plained the  advantages  of  his  method  of  car- 
rying it. 

"Now for  the  hole  in  the  wall,"  cried  the 
colonel,  "as  soon — as  soon,"  with  a  wink, 
"as  I  have  made  certain  that  you  have 
wrote  down  exactly  what  I  told  you  to." 

The  colonel,  with  drawn  pistol,  was  still 
standing  just  on  the  other  side  of  the  desk. 
Spurlock  removed  his  hand  from  the  sheets, 
pushing  them  as  he  did  so  a  few  inches 
toward  Bulliard. 

"Very  well,  Colonel,"  he  said;  "I  sup- 
pose you  would  prefer  to  read  for  yourself." 

"Well,  wouldn't  I,  me  honey  !  Not  that 
I  would  insinuate  that  you  would  lie  about 
what  you  have  put  down,  but  you  know  us 
editors  can't  be  too  partic'lar  about  havin' 
our  pieces  all  O.K.,"  reaching  for  the  sheets 
with  his  left  hand  and  for  an  instant  letting 
his  eyes  fall  to  the  desk  on  which  they  lay. 


160  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

In  that  instant  Spurlock  quickly  bent  for- 
ward and  seized  Bulliard's  revolver  with  his 
left  hand,  placing  his  thumb  under  the 
cocked  hammer  and  receiving  its  impact  as 
the  trigger  was  pulled ;  at  the  same  time,  as 
he  sprang  up,  jerking,  with  his  right  hand, 
from  beneath  Bulliard's  coat  his  murderous 
knife. 

Bulliard  made  one  furious  effort  to  wrench 
the  pistol  from  Spurlock' s  grasp,  but  his  own 
knife  at  his  throat' controlled  him.  "Be 
perfectly  quiet  and  release  the  pistol,"  Spur- 
lock commanded,  "or — "  The  knife  un- 
der Bulliard's  chin  finished  the  sentence. 

Bulliard  glared  for  a  moment  motionless 
at  the  set  face  and  burning  eyes  of  Spurlock. 
Then,  feeling  the  point  of  the  steel  against 
his  neck,  his  fingers  gripping  the  revolver 
relaxed,  and  he  sat  down  abruptly,  a  guttural 
gurgle  of  helpless  rage  in  his  throat,  a  leaden 
hue  on  his  skin,  and  an  ooze  of  perspiration 
on  his  frowning  forehead. 

Spurlock,  from  whom  Bulliard  never  took 
his  glowering  eyes,  retained  the  pistol,  but 
tossed  the  knife  through  a  window.  "  Now," 
he  said  to  Bulliard,  "throw  the  key  on 
the  desk." 

"  What  key  ?  "  Bulliard  grunted. 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  161 

"Throw  the  key  on  the  desk,"  Spurlock 
repeated. 

Bulliard  sullenly  reached  in  his  pocket, 
and  drawing  out  the  key  which  he  had  taken 
from  Spurlock's  door,  pitched  it  on  the  top 
of  the  desk. 

"A  word  of  advice,  Colonel,"  Spurlock 
smiled.  "  You  have  something  to  learn  yet 
as  an  editor,  even  of  one  issue  only.  When 
next  you  proceed  to  edit  a  paper  with  a  pis- 
tol, don't  stand  on  the  other  side  of  the 
desk,  in  front  of  your  amanuensis,  but  at  his 
elbow  or  at  his  back,  where  you  can  over- 
look his  writing,  and  keep  your  pistol  up  to 
its  required  functions  at  the  same  time." 

Bulliard  screwed  impatiently  in  his  chair. 
"  Well,  now,  Spurlock,"  he  growled,  "I'm 
done  for  this  deal.  You  hold  the  cards. 
What  do  you  want  ?  It's  too  damn  hot  in 
here;  le's  finish  this  business." 

"  That  is  just  what  I  was  about  to  suggest. 
It  is  time  that  we  finished  it.  For  a  year  and 
a  half  I  have  heard  of  your  threats,  and 
more  than  once  I  have  gone  out  of  my  way 
to  avoid  a  street  collision  with  you.  When 
the  world  becomes  so  small  that  two  men 
cannot  live  in  it  peaceably,  and  one  cannot 
interview  the  other  without  holding  a  pistol 


162  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

at  his  head,  it  would  appear  that  there  is  one 
man  too  many  in  the  world.  Now,  Colonel, 
you  have  repeatedly  proclaimed  your  inten- 
tion of  putting  me  out  of  it ;  you  came  up 
here  this  morning  prepared  to  do  so,  if  it 
suited  your  whim.  It  is  time  to  have  an  end 
of  this,  and  to  settle  between  ourselves 
which  one  of  us  is  to  get  out  of  the  way." 

"  Oh,  I'm  willin'  to  fight  you,  whenever 
you  say,  Ogden  Spur  lock  !  ' ' 

' '  I  say  now. ' ' 

"  Good  Lord  !  you  don't  expect  me  to  put 
up  my  fists  agin  that  gun  !  " 

"  You  seemed  to  expect  me  to  put  my  fists 
against  it.  But  I  shall  take  no  advantage  of 
you.  We  shall  fight  on  even  terms." 

"  All  right ;  then  send  yo'  man  around  to 
my  hotel  and  he  can  arrange  it  with  one  of 
my  friends.  Now,  I'll  thank  you  to  let  me 
out  of  this  Turkish  bath-house,"  rising  and 
turning  toward  the  door. 

"  We  shall  never  have  a  better  opportunity 
than  the  present,"  Spurlock  insisted.  "We 
are  together,  and  shall  be  free  from  inter- 
ruption. Let  me  explain  to  you  my  plan. 
You  may  see  among  my  wall  decorations  over 
here,  behind  me,  two  pieces  of  cutlery. 
They  are  exactly  alike,  and  are  reputed  to 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  163 

be  very  effective  instruments  in  the  solution 
of  the  question  of  the  superfluous  man.  They 
are  called,  I  believe,  barongs,  and  are  said 
to  be  the  favorite  equipment  of  the  Moros, 
who  do  many  things  with  them,  from  cut- 
ting down  trees  and  digging  yams  to  chop- 
ping off  heads  and  shaving.  If  you  will  take 
one  of  those  barongs  I  will  take  the  other, 
and  we  can  soon,  as  you  say,  '  finish  this 
business.'  ' 

"  To  hell  with  yo'  barongs  and  yo'  Moros! 
What  do  you  s'pose  I  know  about  any  such 
heathen  truck  ?  ' ' 

"  I  daresay  you  would  be  more  at  home  in 
the  use  of  a  barong  than  I.  As  you  may 
observe,  the  barong  is  simply  a  species  of 
knife — seemingly  a  very  strong  and  long  and 
sharp  knife — and  you  have  a  wide  reputation 
as  a  knife  expert.  But  we  won't  argue  the 
matter.  The  arbitrament  of  the  barong  will 
be  as  fair  for  you  as  for  me ;  you  have  come 
for  a  settlement,  and  I  am  determined  you 
shall  not  go  away  without  it." 

Spurlock  went  to  the  wall  and  took  down 
one  of  the  barongs.  Then  he  removed  the 
cartridges  from  Bulliard's  revolver  and 
threw  that,  after  his  knife,  out  of  the  win- 
dow. "  Now,"  he  said,  stepping  up  to  the 


1 64  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

desk,  "  after  you  have  secured  your  barong, 
and  after  a  word  more  of  explanation,  we 
shall  be  ready." 

Above  Spurlock's  desk  hung  a  low  chan- 
delier which  originally  had  been  fitted  for  gas, 
but  which  was  now  wired  for  electricity.  "  I 
don't  know  that  the  barong  was  ever  intended 
for  such  a  purpose,"  he  continued,  ''but  the 
first  use  I  propose  to  make  of  mine,  after 
yours  is  in  your  hand,  is  to  cut  that  wire 
which  you  see  running  down  the  stem  of  the 
chandelier.  That  will  leave  us  in  total  dark- 
ness, and  is  preferable,  I  think  you  will  agree 
with  me,  to  merely  turning  out  the  lights, 
for  it  will  put  it  out  of  the  power  of  either 
of  us,  in  the  course  of  the  proceedings,  to 
turn  them  on  again.  It  is  my  idea  that  a 
barong  duel  will  be  just  as  conclusive,  and 
less  offensive  to  civilized  eyes,  if  fought  in 
the  dark." 

"  You — you  drivellin'  idiot !  " 

"  Here  is  the  plan  then.  Get  your  barong 
from  the  wall  there  ;  take  your  position,  any- 
where in  the  room  you  choose ;  then  I  shall 
clip  the  wire,  and  in  the  darkness  we  shall 
find  each  other  and  fight  it  out,  until  one  or 
the  other  is  dead.  Go,  get  your  barong. ' ' 

' ' I  won't  do  no  such  a  thing  !     Good  god- 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  165 

dlemighty,  man  !  do  you  take  me  for  a  ringed- 
nosed  Hottentot  ?  Why — why,  it  would  be 
downright  murder  !  ' ' 

"  Of  course.  But  you  have  been  panting 
for  murder  many  months,  and  there  seems 
no  other  way  out  of  it  than  the  murder  of  one 
of  us.  Do  you  refuse  to  fight  ?  ' ' 

"  I  do,  sir  !  I  do,  sir  !  I  most  emphat- 
ically refuse  to  fight  in  any  such  outlandish, 
unchristian  way  as  that !  " 

"  Then  sign  that  paper." 

Spurlock  indicated  the  second  sheet  on 
which  he  had  written  while  Bulliard  was 
covering  him  with  the  revolver. 

Bulliard's  bloodshot,  bewildered  eyes 
went  from  Spurlock  to  the  paper,  and  from 
the  paper  back  to  Spurlock. 

"  As  I  told  you,"  Spurlock  added,  "when 
editing  with  a  pistol  the  editor  should  stand 
where  he  can  read  what  his  amanuensis 
writes.  While  you  were  dictating  your 
'  leader '  I  was  drawing  up  that  acknowl- 
edgment for  you  to  sign,  as  I  thought  it 
might  come  in  conveniently  before  you  left. 
Sign  it  if  you  wish  to  leave." 

"What  in  the — "  Bulliard  took  up  the 
sheet  and  held  it  up  to  the  light,  but  his 
hand  was  a  little  unsteady,  and  after  another 


166  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

mystified  look  at  Spurlock  he  slapped  it  down 
on  the  desk,  and  stooping  over  it,  read  : 

"  /,  Cassius  Bulliard,  do  hereby  confess 
that  Ogden  Spurlock  has  given  me  a  fair 
opportunity  to  fight  him  with  my  favorite 
weapon,  the  knife — to  cut,  carve,  slash,  and 
slice  until  one  or  both  be  no  more — and  that 
I  have  declined.  And  I  do  further  confess 
that,  to  the  best  of  my  knowledge  and  belief, 
in  my  various  and  sundry  threats  to  cut, 
carve,  slash,  and  slice  the  aforesaid  Ogden 
Spurlock,  1  have  been  more  of  a  bluffer  in 
esse  than  a  butcher  in  posse" 

The  veins  of  Colonel  Cash  Bulliard's  neck 
swelled  till  they  projected  over  the  edge  of 
his  collar,  and  as  he  finished  reading,  he 
brought  his  fist  down  on  the  paper  with  a 
mighty  blow,  and  lifting  himself  erect  again, 
he  shoved  his  weight  down  on  one  leg  and 
then  down  on  the  other,  gathering  his 
shoulders  up  as  if  for  one  supreme  expulsion 
of  heaving  emotion.  "  I  refuse  to  sign  any 
such  infernal  rot !  "  he  puffed ;  "I'll  see  you 
in  the  bottom  of ' ' 

"All  right,  Colonel,"  Spurlock  chopped 
him  off.  "  There  is  no  occasion  for  any 
further  heating  figures  of  speech."  Spur- 
lock struck  a  match  and  stuck  it  like  a  can- 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  167 

die  in  the  little  mug  of  paste  on  the  desk. 
"I'll  wait  until  that  match  burns  out  or 
goes  out ;  then,  if  you  have  not  signed,  I'll 
cut  the  wire,  and  you  may  defend  yourself 
with  the  other  barong,  or  with  whatever  else 
you  can  find  handy  in  the  room." 

"  Say,  you !  what  t' — my  goddle " 

"  Not  so  loud,  or  you  may  blow  out  the 
match,"  Spurlock  suggested. 

Bulliard's  eyes  fairly  shuttled  between  the 
match  and  Spurlock's  knife,  which  was  now 
lifted  against  the  electric  wire,  and  the  colo- 
nel's body  seemed  to  sway  with  his  eyes. 
The  match  was  already  half  consumed  and 
the  flame  was  beginning  to  flicker. 

"  I'd  advise  you  to  decide  at  once  between 
the  pen  and  the  barong,"  Spurlock  pro- 
posed ;  "  the  match  seems  about  to  go." 

The  colonel,  after  one  more  desperate  look 
at  the  match,  grabbed  the  pen,  and,  with  a 
raucous  snort  of  rage,  repugnance,  and  sur- 
render, signed  his  name  to  the  paper.  Then 
he  drew  his  handkerchief  hard  across  his 
sweating  face  and  jerked  to  loosen  his  bind- 
ing collar. 

"Well,  you  take  the  pot  this  time,"  he 
panted  ;  "  but  the  game  ain't  ended  yit. 
Now  lemme  out  of  this  hell-hole." 


i68  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

"  With  pleasure.  And,  by  the  way," 
Spurlock  volunteered,  as  he  crossed  over  to 
unlock  the  door,  "  there  is  an  unfrequented 
alley  beneath  that  window  over  there.  If 
you  will  turn  into  it  on  your  way  to  your 
hotel,  you  will  probably  find  your  knife  and 
your  pistol." 

The  colonel  condescended  no  reply,  but, 
carrying  his  head  well  back  and  his  stomach 
well  forward,  he  stalked  out,  through  the 
anteroom  and  on  down  the  corridor  to  the 
stairway,  without  deigning  to  notice  Tot 
Waugh's  cheery, 

"So  long,  Cash!  " 

Tot's  ruddy  face  and  twinkling  eyes 
were  glowing  with  excitement,  although  his 
joy  seemed  tempered  by  a  new-born  awe  of 
his  friend  and  protege.  He  looked  at  Spur- 
lock  and  grinned ;  then  he  leaned  forward, 
bobbing  his  head  from  side  to  side  as  he 
kept  time  with  the  heavy  footfalls  that  punct- 
uated Colonel  Cash  Bulliard's  dignified  and 
disgusted  withdrawal  down  the  stairs.  After 
which  the  ex-Representative  of  the  Legislat- 
ure from  the  Thirteenth  Ward,  and  present 
participant  in  The  Standard' s  "  We,"  seized 
his  hat  by  the  brim  and  slowly  swinging  it 
in  a  circle  twice  above  his  head,  dashed  it 


"IF  I   WERE  A  MAN"  169 

to  the  floor,  and  with  all  the  power  of  one 
short  leg  kicked  it  to  the  ceiling. 

"  I  thought  your  friend  Clum  Koots  was 
with  you,  Tot,"  Spurlock  remarked. 

"Well,  Clum  was  here  till  a  few  minutes 
ago ;  but  when  it  come  to  where  you  was 
goner  put  out  the  lights  and  pull  off  a  fight 
to  a  finish  in  the  dark,  ketch  as  ketch  ken, 
with  tomahawks  or  somepn,  Clum  seemed 
to  git  sorter  fidgety,  and  'twasn't  long  befo' 
he  said  he  couldn't  set  up  all  night  waitin' 
for  Cash  Bulliard,  and  lit  out.  Left  word 
for  you  he'd  see  you  some  other  time." 

"  Do  you  mean  to  tell  me  that  you  could 
hear  what  was  being  said  by  Bulliard  and 
myself?  " 

"Well,"  Tot  answered,  hesitating,  "some 
of  it — some  of  the  hot-times  parts  where  you 
was  goner  put  out  the  lights  and " 

Spurlock  interrupted  him  with  imperative 
and  almost  stern  instructions  that  he  was 
never  to  say  anything  about  the  affair.  Then 
he  went  back  into  the  inner  room  and  re- 
placed the  barong  with  its  mate  on  the  wall, 
after  he  had  drawn  its  dull  edge  heavily 
across  his  hand  and  jabbed  himself  harmless- 
ly with  its  blunted  point.  "  I'm  afraid  the 
Moros  who  owned  my  barongs,"  he  smiled, 


i  yo  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

"  must  have  found  them  of  little  service,  un- 
less for  digging  yams. ' ' 

He  took  up  the  confession  which  Bull- 
iard  had  signed,  and  tearing  it  into  strips, 
dropped  them  into  the  waste-basket.  Then 
he  drew  a  chair  to  the  window  and  watched 
the  moon  go  down,  while  he  laughed,  and 
laughed  again. 

After  that  he  was  not  troubled  much  by 
threats,  anonymous  or  otherwise,  nor  were 
there  any  further  attempts  to  bully  The 
Standard.  For,  somehow,  whether  through 
Tot  Waugh  or  Clum  Koots  he  never  knew, 
considerable  of  the  story  of  Colonel  Cash 
Bulliard's  brief  editorial  career  got  out ;  and 
Colonel  Cash  himself  indirectly  confirmed 
this  story,  for  according  to  Tot  Waugh' s 
testimony  the  colonel  went  straight  from  The 
Standard  office  to  his  hotel,  and  from  his 
hotel  to  the  railway  station,  and  has  never 
been  seen  in  Louisville  since. 


XVII 

THROUGH  the  summer  and  fall,  up  to  the 
day  of  the  election  in  November,  Spurlock 
was  unflagging  in  his  work  for  the  Citizens' 
Ticket.  He  knew  that  he  was  fighting 
against  odds,  as  both  the  Democrats  and  the 
Republicans  were  well  organized,  while  the 
Dolliver  junta  was  in  complete  control  of 
the  ballot  machinery.  And  election  day 
was  not  an  hour  old  before  he  realized  that 
Dolliver  was  making  unscrupulous  use  of  his 
power.  In  some  of  the  precincts  where  the 
Citizens'  Ticket  was  known  to  be  strongest 
the  polls  were  not  opened  until  after  mid- 
day, and  when  they  were  opened  long  lines 
of  hoodlums  stood  before  the  polling  places 
and  blocked  the  way.  Many  of  these  were 
not  entitled  to  vote,  but  were  paid  to  stand 
in  line  in  order  to  obstruct  those  who  were 
entitled  to  vote.  Others  who  did  vote  got  in 
line  again  in  order  to  keep  the  "  kid-gloves  " 
from  the  polls.  The  ballot-boxes  required 
by  law  had  in  some  instances  disappeared 
171 


172  "IF  1  WERE  A  MAN" 

the  night  before,  and  several  of  the  precincts 
were  thereby  disfranchised  for  hours.  The 
election  officers  in  many  precincts  were  un- 
der Dolliver's  thumb,  winked  at  the  grossest 
violations  of  law  in  his  interest,  and  encour- 
aged and  committed  the  most  palpable  frauds. 
Spurlock  found  one  instance  where  a  man 
had  died  at  three  o'clock  that  morning  and 
had  voted  at  eight  o'clock  the  same  morn- 
ing. Well-known  citizens  when  they  went 
to  the  polls  to  vote  learned  that  negroes  and 
"wharf  rats"  had  already  voted  in  their 
names,  and  were  blandly  turned  away.  Both 
the  Democrats  and  the  Republicans  were 
buying  voters  outright,  as  it  was  easy  to  see 
by  watching  their  "  workers  "  and  following 
the  electors,  black  and  white,  who  went 
from  the  polls  to  certain  saloons  not  far  off, 
where  their  tags  were  cashed.  The  police 
were  blind  to  all  infractions  of  the  law  made 
by  men  on  their  "  side,"  and  were  officious- 
ly active  in  driving  from  the  polls  and  ar- 
resting those  who  were  on  any  other  side. 

Spurlock  early  in  the  day  saw  that  the 
Citizens'  Ticket  had  no  possible  chance ; 
that  even  if  it  had  enough  votes  to  elect,  and 
could  get  them  into  the  ballot-boxes,  they 
would  never  be  counted.  He  accordingly 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  173 

directed  his  efforts  toward  bringing  to  jus- 
tice the  law-breakers,  and  he  spent  most  of 
the  day  in  collecting  evidence  of  their  guilt, 
taking  out  warrants  for  their  arrest,  and 
bailing  out  Tot  Waugh. 

Tot  had  soon  reported  to  Spurlock  that 
"we  are  up  ag'inst  it,"  and  being  denied 
the  privilege  of  carrying  out  his  proposition 
to  "git  in  the  push"  by  entering  the 
market  and  buying  up  the  other  fellows,  and 
by  outplaying  them  at  their  own  game  of 
trickery  and  fraud,  he  had  gone  forth  on  his 
own  account  to  combat  trickery  and  fraud 
with  the  weapons  which  nature  had  given 
him.  The  result  was  that  he  fell  a  frequent 
victim  of  Dolliver's  police,  and  that  Spur- 
lock  put  in  considerable  time  going  on  bonds 
for  his  liberation  ;  without,  Tot  was  grieved 
to  note,  showing  any  feeling  of  ample  com- 
pensation in  view  of  the  number  of  "  Sam 
Dolliver's  ringers"  that  Tot  claimed  to 
have  "  put  out  of  the  runnin'." 

After  his  day's  observations,  Spurlock  was 
not  surprised  that  the  footing  and  announce- 
ment of  the  votes  showed  that  every  man  on 
Dolliver's  ticket  had  been  "elected"  by  a 
safe  plurality,  the  Republicans  coming  a  good 
second,  and  the  Citizens'  Ticket  a  poor  last. 


XVIII 

ONE  afternoon  in  early  September  of  the 
next  year,  Spurlock  climbed  the  high  knob 
which  is  in  one  of  the  parks  of  Louis- 
ville. This  great  wooded  hill,  whose  crest 
is  reached  by  a  road  extending  more  than 
two  miles  from  the  base,  well  repays  the 
ascent,  for  it  is  a  wild  bit  of  nature  de- 
spite man's  tampering,  and  from  its  summit 
there  are  views  .of  rare  pastoral  and  pictu- 
resque charm.  Spurlock,  on  the  southeast 
shoulder  of  the  hill,  where  the  road  turns  in 
a  sharp  ellipse,  leaned  against  a  tree  which 
grew  from  the  edge  of  the  precipitous  peak, 
and  looked  out  upon  the  noble  picture  un- 
folded below  him.  It  was  as  if  from  this 
point  some  mighty  arm  had  marked  the  arc 
of  a  vast  circle,  whose  radii  reached  many 
miles  and  whose  visible  circumference  swept 
three-quarters  of  the  horizon.  It  was  a 
circle  whose  periphery  was  a  wall  of  forest- 
clad  hills,  which  seemed  to  be  the  very  wall 
of  the  world.  On  the  horizontal  ridge  of 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  175 

this  wall  rested  the  dome  of  the  sky,  which, 
where  Spurlock  stood,  appeared  to  be  nearer 
to  him  than  was  the  grass  of  the  valley  be- 
low, and  in  this  majestic  enclosure  were 
spread  the  beauty  and  the  glory  so  blindly 
lavished  by  sun  and  rain,  and-  which  man, 
from  generation  to  generation,  has  tried  so 
persistently  and  so  futilely  to  imitate  on  can- 
vas. The  foliage  of  the  far  hills  was  still 
green  with  the  green  of  midsummer.  The 
deep  richness  of  its  hues  was  made  deeper  by 
the  distance  and  by  the  shadows  of  the  sink- 
ing sun,  while  the  haze  that  seemed  to  sift 
from  the  blue  of  the  sky  so  commingled 
with  these  cool  greens  and  marine  blues  that 
one  could  almost  fancy  that  the  wind  which 
drifted  over  the  hills  brought  with  it  the 
smell  of  the  sea.  Against  this  background 
of  restful  color  stretched  the  fresher  green 
of  the  nearer  woodlands,  the  still  fresher 
green  of  the  meadows,  the  yellowing  green 
of  the  corn  lands  and  the  orchards,  with  here 
and  there  tree-crowned  knolls  in  the  great 
basin,  and  vistas  between,  through  which 
wound  the  brown  thread  of  a  road  and 
peeped  the  white  face  of  a  cottage.  And 
over  all,  and  pervading  all,  was  the  dry, 
golden  mist  which  comes  in  the  late  summer 


i76  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

and  early  autumn,  while  flecking  the  valley 
below  and  swathing  the  hill  on  which  he 
stood  were  yellow  clouds  of  golden-rod. 

Spurlock,  turning  his  head  far  to  the 
right  and  following  this  scene  as  far  to  the 
left,  knew  that  in  its  sweep  only  the  smoke 
of  the  city  was  invisible,  cut  off  by  the  spur 
of  the  hill  which  rose  behind  him  —  the 
city  in  whose  grime  he  had  worked  so  hard 
and  suffered  such  defeat.  There  was  a  little 
Avooden  bench  near,  and  on  this  he  sat  down, 
the  great  valley  beneath  him  and  the  sun 
dropping  to  the  rim  of  the  hills.  But  with 
all  this  before  him,  his  thoughts  went  back 
to  the  city  which  he  could  not  see ;  for  the 
city  and  the  part  he  had  played  in  it  pressed 
upon  him  to-day,  the  day  on  which  he  had 
issued  the  final  number  of  The  Standard. 

The  paper  had  been  a  burdensome  experi- 
ment. He  had  started  it  in  order  to  have  a 
daily  mouthpiece  for  the  movement  repre- 
sented by  the  Citizens'  Ticket,  but  he  soon 
found  that  a  journal  to  have  weight  as  an 
"organ"  must  be  much  more  than  an  or- 
gan. He  had  accordingly  tried  to  make  a 
good  newspaper  of  The  Standard,  and  this 
necessitated  an  outlay  which  was  a  steady 
drain  on  his  resources.  In  his  zeal  for  the 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  177 

work  which  he  had  undertaken  he  did  not 
count  the  cost  to  himself,  and  The  Standard 
was  not  many  months  old  before,  to  raise  the 
money  to  pay  its  way,  he  had  heavily  en- 
cumbered Airdrie.  If  it  had  not  been  a 
period  of  great  depression  in  the  value  of 
stock  farms,  and  if  he  had  let  The  Standard 
die  with  the  defeat  of  the  Citizens'  Ticket, 
he  would  have  fared  better ;  but  the  defeat 
of  the  Citizens'  Ticket  was  only  an  incident 
in  the  course  he  had  marked  out  for  himself, 
and  his  hope  was  to  found  The  Standard  on 
a  permanent  basis  as  the  most  effective  me- 
dium for  the  continued  prosecution  of  his 
plans.  He  had  therefore  carried  the  paper 
well  into  its  second  year,  but  he  was  com- 
pelled to  see  that  the  field  for  its  support  was 
inadequate,  and  as  his  own  means  were  now 
exhausted,  there  was  nothing  to  do  but  to 
discontinue  its  publication.  It  is  true  that 
John  Hilborn  had  offered  the  money  to  keep 
it  going  longer,  but  Spurlock  refused  to  take 
it.  "  My  experience  has  clearly  convinced 
me  of  two  things,"  he  explained:  "first, 
that  the  day  has  gone  by  when  a  newspaper 
can  succeed  merely  as  the  '  organ  '  of  any 
movement  or  class ;  and,  second,  that  the 
newspaper  territory  here  being  already  filled, 


178  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

there  is  not  room  for  another  daily,  however 
gord  a  paper  I  might  make  it." 

Airdrie  had  been  sold  under  the  hammer 
a  month  before,  and  Dolliver  had  not 
missed  the  highly  relished  opportunity  to 
buy  it  in,  and  seemingly  desirous  of  further 
assisting  retributive  Fate,  had  almost  imme- 
diately transferred  the  place  to  Judge  Majen- 
die,  who,  with  the  very  new  Mrs.  Majendie 
— she  would  have  designated  herself  as  Mrs. 
Judge  Majendie — now  lived  in  impressive 
style  at  the  Spurlock  homestead. 

Spurlock  smiled  a  little  grimly  as  he  ran 
over  the  account  of  the  last  three  years.  It 
was  just  about  three  years  since,  stirred  by 
the  words  of  Innis  Majendie,  he  had  quit  his 
life  of  idleness  and  set  forth  to  be  a  man  who 
did  things.  The  result  was  that  he  had  es- 
tranged Innis  herself;  had  balked  her  father 
of  his  most  cherished  ambition ;  had  made 
a  failure  in  his  effort  to  deliver  his  city  from 
Dolliverism ;  had  been  defeated  in  his  at- 
tempt to  establish  The  Standard ;  had  lost 
his  home  and  his  substance ;  and  was  now 
dependent  for  his  own  livelihood  upon  the 
dubious  profession  of  "  a  young  lawyer." 
"  I  have  paid  dearly  for  my  experience,"  he 
thought,  "  but  I  know  much  more  now  than 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  179 

I  knew  three  years  ago,  and  I  know  much 
better  how  to  fight." 

For  he  had  no  intention  of  quitting  the 
fight  against  Dolliverism.  He  felt  now  that 
he  had  only  begun  it. 

As  he  rose  to  leave  he  saw,  almost  upon 
him,  coming  down  the  road  above,  an  awk- 
ward bicyclist  who,  in  his  descent,  had  lost 
control  of  his  wheel,  and  was  panic-stricken 
at  sight  of  the  sudden  turn  of  the  road  around 
the  shoulder  of  the  hill  and  at  the  prospect 
of  shooting  over  its  shelf  a  hundred  or  two 
feet  through  the  underbrush.  As  he  whizzed 
within  ten  yards  of  the  turn  the  bicyclist,  for 
safety,  flung  himself  to  the  ground,  and  the 
wheel  fell  with  a  crash  almost  under  the 
hoofs  of  a  horse  that  had  just  appeared  from 
below,  drawing  a  dog-cart.  The  horse 
reared,  and  then  began  to  back.  Nothing 
is  more  helpless  than  the  driver  of  a  backing 
horse,  and  this  driver,  who  was  Julia  Page, 
paled,  and  ordered  her  companion  to  jump 
out.  Innis  did  not  obey,  although  the 
wheels  of  the  cart  were  now  very  near  the 
edge  of  the  cliff.  But  the  next  second  there 
was  no  occasion  for  jumping,  as  Spurlock 
had  one  hand  on  the  horse's  bit,  and  with 
the  other  was  stroking  his  neck. 


l8o        .        "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

"  He's  quiet  now,"  Spurlock  said,  "  and 
he  did  not  behave  badly,  considering  his 
provocation.  Why — "  For  the  moment 
he  did  not  say  more,  for,  looking  up,  he  saw 
that  it  was  Julia  Page  and  Innis  Majendie  in 
the  cart. 

Miss  Page's  face  beamed  a  glad  recogni- 
tion. "  It's  Mr.  Spurlock  ! "  she  exclaimed. 
"And  of  all  times,  how  fortunate  !  " 

Spurlock  turned  from  one  to  the  other  of 
the  two  girls,  finally  fixing  his  eyes  on  Innis, 
with  a  riot  of  joy  and  doubt  in  his  heart. 
It  was  over  two  years  since  he  had  seen  her; 
since  she  had  left  him  in  Julia  Page's  draw- 
ing-room; since  she  had  dismissed  him  at 
her  own  home;  since  at  his  approach  she 
had  fled  from  the  veranda. 

Long  afterward  Julia  Page  told  Spurlock 
that  he  acted  with  anything  but  the  self- 
possession  and  dignity  becoming  in  such  a 
situation.  "  You  said  '  Why  ! '  a  second 
time,"  she  twitted  him.  "And  then  you 
said,  '  Why,  is  it  possible  ? '  and  dropped 
the  bridle  and  started  toward  us.  And  just 
then  that  awful  man  picked  up  his  bicycle 
and  you  rushed  back  to  the  head  of  the 
horse  and  led  him  deliberately  away  across 
the  road,  with  your  back  to  us,  and  you 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  181 

were  so  slow  about  it  I  do  believe  you  were 
making  up  your  mind  what  to  say;  and 
when  you  did  stop  the  horse  and  come  back 
to  speak  to  us  you  kept  your  eyes  on  Innis, 
but  held  out  your  hand  to  me,  and  remarked, 
solemnly,  '  Well,  I  thought  you  were  in 
Egypt ;  '  and  it  seemed  exactly  as  if  you 
meant,  '  I  hoped  you  were  in  Egypt.'  But 
after  you  shook  my  hand — and  I  feel  that 
crushing  pressure  yet  in  my  worst  dreams — 
there  was  Innis  offering  you  her  hand  and 
smiling  at  you  as  sweetly  as  if — as  if  you 
had  not  neglected  us  most  shamefully." 

Spurlock  always  remembered.  He  would 
never  forget  how  he  took  that  hand  and 
searched  the  eyes  above  it  with  his  own, 
while  all  his  pent-up  passion  surged  to  his 
lips,  only  to  be  choked  down  by  the  words 
of  conventionality  which  he  forced. 

' '  Really,  Innis, ' '  Miss  Page  had  here 
spoken,  "  we  are  talking  to  Mr.  Spurlock  as 
if  he  had  simply  adjusted  the  harness  or 
opened  a  gate  for  us,  instead  of  prevented 
us  from  going  to  the  bottom  of  this  terrible 
hill." 

It  was  with  a  genuine  laugh  that  Spurlock 
answered  .her.  "  If  you  will  look  down 
there,"  he  said,  "  you  will  see  that  the  side 


1 82  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

of  the  hill  is  so  grown  with  bushes  and  trees 
that  it  would  have  been  impossible  for  you 
to  go  over  more  than  a  few  feet. ' ' 

"A  few  feet!"  bridled  Miss  Page. 
"And  how  many  feet  would  you  be  willing 
to  fall  into  the  bushes  and  trees,  with  a 
frightened  horse  on  top  of  you  ?  ' ' 

After  they  had  watched  the  sun  disappear 
beyond  the  ridge  which  banks  the  winding 
Ohio,  and  Spurlock,  by  means  of  the  usual 
inquiries,  had  learned  that  they  were  less 
than  a  week  home  from  their  wanderings, 
Miss  Page  turned  the  horse's  head  to  Louis- 
ville. 

"How  did  you  come  out?"  she  asked 
Spurlock. 

' '  On  the  street-cars,  to  the  foot  of  the 
hill." 

"That  is  fortunate  again,"  she  replied; 
"  for  you  must  get  in  and  go  back  to  dinner 
with  us." 

Spurlock  hesitated,  glancing  at  Innis. 

She  colored  a  little,  but  made  him  happier 
than  he  had  been  for  many  months.  "  You 
will  be  very  late  if  you  walk  to  the  cars," 
she  said,  looking  at  him  with  gentle  direct- 
ness. 

"Besides,"  Miss  Page  added,  "mother 


"IF  I  WERE   A  MAN"  183 

would  be  indignant  if  we  did  not  bring  you 
back  with  us.  You  do  not  know  what  an 
admirer  of  yours  she  is.  Why,  she  has  had 
The  Standard  sent  to  her  all  over  the  world ; 
and  she  thinks  it  a  great  outrage — we  all  do 
— that  you  have  to  give  it  up. ' ' 

Again  Spurlock  sought  Innis  Majendie's 
eyes.  He  held  them  for  a  little,  and  then 
they  fell,  as  she  assured  him  : 

' '  Yes,  we  were  very  sorry. ' ' 

"And,"  continued  Miss  Page,  "we  might 
overtake  that  dreadful  creature  on  his  bicy- 
cle, and  I  shall  never  again  have  thorough 
confidence  in  this  horse." 

Spurlock  jumped  into  the  back  seat  of  the 
cart.  "  I  am  actually  allowing  you  to  press 
upon  me  an  invitation,"  he  laughed,  "  which 
nothing  could  induce  me  to  decline." 

While  there  are  many  more  comfortable 
ways  of  travelling  than  on  the  back  seat  of 
a  cart,  Spurlock  in  this  instance  was  more 
than  satisfied,  for  he  found  a  position  which 
enabled  him  to  keep  his  eyes  on  the  occu- 
pants of  the  front  seat ;  and  to  a  man  who 
has  dreamed  of  a  girl  for  years  without  see- 
ing her  at  all,  it  is  something  to  sit  for  seven 
miles  within  unobstructed  view  even  of  her 
back,  with  an  occasional  glimpse  of  her 


1 84  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

eyes  as  she  turns  in  the  conversation  to  look 
over  her  shoulder  at  him. 

It  was  not  until  after  dinner  that  he  was 
alone  with  her.  Julia  Page  had  left  them  in 
the  library  and  betaken  herself  to  the  drawing- 
room  to  receive  some  casual  caller.  And 
although  the  caller  soon  departed,  she  did  not 
return  to  the  library,  for  which  Spurlock  in- 
wardly blessed  her  as  he  heard  the  rustle  of 
her  skirts  up  the  stairs. 

He  had  been  talking  to  Innis  of  her  travels, 
and  neither  had  touched  upon  anything  more 
personal.  He  did  not  know  yet  what  was  to 
be  the  nature  of  their  future  relations,  al- 
though he  inferred  that  they  were  to  be  at 
least  civil,  if  not  friendly.  And  all  the  while 
he  was  noting  the  changes,  or  the  vague  sug- 
gestions of  changes,  that  he  saw  in  her  :  the 
mellower  tones  of  the  voice,  the  sweeter 
gravity  of  the  face,  the  gentler  dignity  of  her 
bearing. 

It  was  some  time  after  he  had  heard  Julia 
Page  ascending  the  stairs  that  he  said  : 

"  What  was  it  Mrs.  Page  meant  by  her 
reference  to  her  '  Japanese  plans  ?  '  Surely 
she  is  not  thinking  of  another  trip  al- 
ready?" 

"Yes,"  Innis  smiled;  "  we  did  not  get  to 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  185 

Japan,  and  we  are  talking  of  going  before 
we  settle  down." 

"  You,  too  ?  "  he  asked,  with  an  effort  to 
conceal  his  disapproval. 

"  Yes ;  I  should  like  to  go." 

"  And  when  do  you  expect  to  leave?  " 

"  If  we  go,  we  shall  start  next  month." 

"  And  return  how  soon  ?  " 

"  In  about  a  year." 

Spurlock's  laugh  was  rather  vacant.  "  I 
think  we  shall  have  to  expatriate  you,"  he 
said.  "  Or,  rather,  you  seem  determined  to 
expatriate  yourself." 

"  Mrs.  Page  and  Julia  are  bent  upon 
going,"  she  explained,  "and  I  shall  make 
my  home  with  them." 

"  Oh !  "  he  responded,  with  lowered  voice, 
and  as  if  in  apology,  "  I  did  not  know." 

"  Yes,"  hesitating,  "  I  wish  you  to  know 
that.  I  shall  never  live  at  Airdrie."  Her 
color  came,  but  her  clear  eyes  met  his. 

He  looked  at  her  pityingly,  and  the  old 
indignation  against  her  father  kindled.  He 
had  not  thought  that  she  would  carry  her  re- 
sentment against  her  father's  marriage  to  such 
an  extent,  but  knowing  her  mother  and  know- 
ing of  the  second  Mrs.  Majendie,  he  could  not 
blame  such  a  girl  as  Innis.  He  remembered 


186  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

now  that  her  mother  had  left  Innis  an  in- 
come, and  he  was  glad. 

"  I  am  sure,"  he  said,  gently,  "  that  you 
are  right." 

She  studied  him  intently,  dubiously.  Then 
she  smiled  and  opened  her  lips  to  speak.  But 
she  said  nothing,  and  her  eyes  fell  to  the  fan 
with  which  she  was  toying  in  her  lap. 

"Now  tell  me  something  of  yourself,"  she 
said,  brightly.  "  Of  course  we  know  in  a  gen- 
eral way  what  you  have  been  doing,  but  only 
what  we  have  heard  and  read." 

"  There  is  little  to  tell,"  he  smiled,  "  ex- 
cept that  I  am  now  recognized  as  a  pretty 
thorough  failure." 

Her  face  softened  as  if  a  shadow  had  fallen 
over  it.  "But  that  is  not  true,"  she  pro- 
tested, "  and  you  should  not  say  it." 

"  When  you  came  upon  me  this  afternoon, 
on  the  hill,  I  had  just  been  casting  up  the 
score.  It  was  something  like  this :  Three 
years  ago  I  was  an  idler  (you  must  forgive 
me  if  I  trespass  on  forbidden  ground),  but 
was  aroused  by  some  chance  words  dropped 
by — by  a  girl  I  loved,  to  try  to  do  better 
things.  Well,  I  tried,  as  best  I  knew  how, 
with  the  result  that  —  but  you  know  the 
result." 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN  "  187 

"Yes,"  she  replied,  her  eyes  on  the  fan 
again ;  "  I  think  I  know  what  you  would  say, 
but  it  is  much — it  is  everything — to  feel  that 
one  has  done  his  duty  and  his  best,  even  if 
it  has  cost  him  so  greatly." 

"  I  am  glad  to  hear  you  say  that.  I  did 
not  hope  that  I  ever  should,"  with  a  resolute 
effort  at  self-restraint. 

"  Yes,  I  know  I  must  have  acted  strangely; 
I  believe  now  it  must  have  been  because  I 
had  idolized  my  father  and  I  could  not  bear 
the  thought  that  you  had  found  his  weakness, 
and  the  thought  that  you  were  right.  When 
you  called  that  day  and  I  refused  to  see  you, 
it  was  not  because  in  my  heart  I  blamed  you 
for  what  you  had  done,  but  because  I  felt 
the  humiliation  of  my  father's  position,  of — 
surely  you  understand  ?  ' ' 

Her  face  was  pale  and  distressed.  The 
words  had  evidently  been  a  poignant  trial. 

Spurlock  lifted  her  hand  reverently  to  his 
lips.  "  I  hope  I  do  understand,"  his  voice 
vibrating  deeply,  "  and  I  was  stupid  not 
always  to  understand.  I  am  afraid  I  thought 
too  much  of  myself  and  too  little  of  the  situ- 
ation in  which  you  were  placed.  But  you 
must  remember  I  had  no  reason  to  believe 
that  my  opinions  or  my  conduct  would  have 


i88  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

much  weight  with  you,  one  way  or  another. 
Three  years  ago — Innis,  it  has  been  more 
than  three  years  now.  Did  you  know  that  ? 
And  do  you  know  what  that  means  ?  ' ' 

He  leaned  forward,  waiting  until  the 
grave,  tender  eyes  were  uncovered  to  him. 

"  Yes,  I  remember,"  she  admitted,  softly. 

"  Well,"  he  bent  over  her,  his  words  un- 
steady with  their  burden  of  passion  and  sus- 
pense, "  I  have  waited  three  years  for  a  dif- 
ferent answer,  Innis." 

She  did  not  withdraw  the  hand  he  had 
taken  as  he  spoke,  and  there  was  a  flicker- 
ing smile  of  happiness  in  her  misty  eyes  as 
she  gave  him  the  answer : 

"I  think — you  were  foolish  to  wait  so 
long." 

Later,  much  later,  when  he  rose  to  go,  she 
said  : 

"  And  another  thing.  I  believe  you  are 
a  little  stupid  some  times.  I  wanted  you  to 
comprehend — but  you  would  not,  fully — 
why  I  shall  not  live  at  Airdrie." 

He  stood  eying  her  in  calm,  radiant  con- 
tent ;  and  suddenly  a  new  light  broke  over 
his  face.  "  Can  it  be — I  could  not  have 
conceived  it  before — that  it  is  because  Air- 


"IF  I  WERE  A  MAN"  189 

drie  was  once  mine,  and  that  you — I  mean 

that " 

It  was  not  necessary  for  him  to  formulate 
his  question,  nor  was  it  necessary  for  her  to 
put  the  answer  of  her  eyes  into  words.  And 
thereupon,  for  the  first  time,  he  said  good- 
by  to  her  as  lovers  will. 

But  some  minutes  afterward,  before  he 
had  yet  gone,  though  he  had  now  reached 
the  door  of  the  library,  he  lingered  to  add  : 

"  You  are  sure,  quite  sure,  you  understand 
that  I  am  now  at  the  bottom  of  the  ladder, 
and  that  you  are  willing  to  postpone  that 
trip  to  Japan  until  I  can  afford  it  ?  " 

She  pulled  from  her  belt  a  spray  of  golden- 
rod  which  she  had  gathered  on  the  hill, 
bending  her  head  to  fasten  it  in  his  button- 
hole while  she  answered  him  : 

"  I  am  sure  of  everything  now." 

He  immediately  said  good-by  to  her  a  sec- 
ond time. 

But  as  he  found  his  hat  in  the  hall  she 
called  to  him  and  ran  to  overtake  him. 

"  There  is  one  thing  more,"  she  cried  like 
a  joyous  child.  "What — "  she  halted  and 
blushed  as  if  ashamed  to  ask  it — "what 
were  those  '  chance  words  '  of  mine  three 


190  "IF  I  WERE  A  MAN" 

years  ago  which  you  said  had — had  made  an 
impression  on  you  ?  ' ' 

Spurlock  laughed  in  delight. 

"  So  you  have  forgotten  ?  " 

He  felt  it  was  worth  three  years  of  denial 
to  see  the  play  of  the  dimple  on  her  cheek 
as  she  made  a  feint  at  thinking. 

"  Why,"  she  explained,  "  I  wanted  to  see 
if  I  remembered." 

"  You  said  :    '  If  I  were  a  man '  ' 

"  Yes,  I  do  remember,"  she  interrupted. 
Then,  after  a  moment  of  silence  :  "But  to- 
night, if  I  were  a  man " 

She  looked  up  at  him,  and  all  the  coquetry 
had  gone  now. 

"Yes?"  Spurlock  waited. 

' '  I  should  be  proud  to  be  such  a  one — ' ' 
finding  his  hand  with  hers — "  as  this." 


"A  series  which  has  given  us  not  king  but  good  " 

The  Ivory  Series 

Each  volume  bound  in  green  and  white  with  gilt 
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JUST  PUBLISHED 
Sweethearts   and  Wives 

Stories  of  Life  in  the  Navy.     By  ANNA 

A.  ROGERS. 

"\7ARIOUS  episodes,  romantic,  senti- 
mental, humorous  and  even  tragic, 
in  the  lives  of  the  wives  and  sweethearts 
of  naval  officers,  form  the  subjects  of  this 
group  of  stories,  several  of  which  have 
met  with  approval  in  the  magazines. 

If  I  Were  a  Man 

The  Story  of  a  New-Southerner.     By 

HARRISON  ROBERTSON. 
'"PHIS  is  the  first  novel  from  the  pen  of 
a  writer  already  known  to  a  consid- 
erable audience  as  the  managing  editor 
of  T^i?  Louisville-Courier  Journal,  and  as  a 
story-teller  of  exceptional  ability.  The 
hero,  a  young  Southerner  of  leisure, 
takes  refuge  in  the  State  legislature  from 
a  course  of  love  that  is  not  running 
smoothly.  The  politics  and  the  love  inter- 
est are  woven  in  an  ingenious  plot. 

PREVIOUS  VOLUMES 

Amos  Judd 

By  J.  A.  MITCHELL,  Editor  of  "  Life.' 
"  This  is  an  excellent  story,  well  told, 
and  with  a  plot  that  deserved  the  care 
bestowed  upon  its  elaboration.  It  is  just 
the  book  to  take  home  on  a  cold  evening 
to  read  before  the  fire." — The  Critic. 


IVORY  SERIES 

la ;  a  Love  Story 

By  "Q"  (ARTHUR  T.  QUILLER-COUCH). 
"No   story   was  ever    more   fearlessly 
and  more  thoughtfully  aimed  at  the  very 
heart  of  life." — The  Bookman. 

The  Suicide  Club 

By  ROBERT  Louis  STEVENSON. 
"  There  is  a  great  deal  of  grim  humor  in 
the  'Suicide  Club,'  and  no  lack  of  subtle 
irony,  while  as  an  example  of  plot  weav- 
ing and  invention  it  compares  favorably 
with  some  of  Stevenson's  later  work." 
— New  York  Times. 

Irralie's  Bushranger 

A  Story  of  Australian  Adventure.    By 

E.  W.  HORNUNG. 

"The  incidents,  just  improbable  enough 
to  be  real,  are  original  and  cleverly  com- 
bined, and  there  is  no  flagging  in  the 
press  and  stir  of  the  story." — The  Nation. 

A  Master  Spirit 

By  HARRIET  PRESCOTT  SPOFFORD. 
"The  theme  is  the  old  one  of  how  it 
takes  a  great  loss,  a  great  grief,  a  great 
disappointment  to   make   a    really    great 
singer;  and  this  theme  Mrs.  Spofford  has 
developed  with  a  rare  grace  and  charm." 
— Boston  Advertiser. 

Madame  Delphine 
By  GEORGE  W.  CABLE. 
"  There  are  few  living  American  writ- 
ers who  can  reproduce  for  us  more  per- 
fectly than   Mr.    Cable  does   the   speech, 
the  manners,  the  whole  social  atmosphere 
of  a  remote  time  and  a  peculiar  people." 
— New  York  Tribune. 


IVORY  SERIES 

One  of  the  Visconti 

By  EVA  WILDER  BRODHEAD. 
"  The   author   has    succeeded    uncom- 
monly well  in  combining  descriptions  of 
actual  scenes,  as  in  a  book  of  travel,  with 
the  action  of  a  romantic  tale." 

— Boston  Transcript. 

A  Book  of  Martyrs 

BY  CORNELIA  ATWOOD  PRATT. 
"Miss  Pratt  shows  a  strength  and  in- 
sight into  character  that  have  enabled 
her,  without  resorting  to  the  morbid  or 
the  ultra-sensational,  to  produce  a  volume 
of  short  stories  of  which  each  is  a  model 
of  its  kind." — New  York  Sun. 

A  Bride  from  the  Bush 
By  E.  W.  HORNUNG. 
"  The  story  is  prettily  told,  and  is  par- 
ticularly bright  in  its  glimpses   of  Bush 
life.     Mr.  Hornung  has  certainly  earned 
the  right  to  be  called   the  Bret  Harte  of 
Australia." — Boston  Herald. 

The  Man  Who  Wins 
By  ROBERT  HERRICK. 
"  It  is  written  with  admirable  restraint, 
and  without  affectations  of  style,  in  the 
clearest  English.     It  is  a  pleasure  to  wel- 
come Mr.  Herrick  into  the  small  company 
of  serious  literary  workers." — Chap-Book. 

An  Inheritance 

By  HARRIET  PRESCOTT  SPOFFORD. 
"  Mrs.  Spofford  has  done  nothing  better 
than  this  daintily  written  story,  if,  indeed, 
anything  quite  so  good." 

—Philadelphia  Press. 


JVORY  SERIES 

The  Old  Gentleman  of  the  Black 
Stock 

By  THOMAS  NELSON  PAGE. 
"There  could  hardly  be  a  more  appro- 
priate addition  to  the  Scribners'  dainty 
Ivory  Series  than  the  little  volume  before 
us,  with  its  moral  that,  after  all,  love  is 
best."—  The  Critic. 

Literary  Love  Letters 

And    Other    Stories.        By     ROBERT 

HERRICK. 

"  It  shows  literary  elegance  and  skill, 
to  say  nothing  of  the  daintiest  of  touches." 
— Chicago  Times-Herald. 

A  Romance  in  Transit 

By  FRANCIS  LYNDE. 
"  I  was  surprised  at  the  way  he  handled 
the  engine,  and  it  was  all  so  natural,  for 
I  have  been  there.     It  is  not  only  a  good 
railroad  story,  but  a  delightful  love  story." 
— Cy  War  man. 

In  Old  Narragansett 
Romances   and  Realities.     By  ALICE 

MORSE  EARLE. 

"Told  with  all  the  art  of  a  practiced 
writer  of  fiction.  Mrs.  Earle  has  accurate 
and  delightful  knowledge  of  old-time 
ways  in  Narragansett." —  The  Outlook. 

Seven  Months  a  Prisoner 

By  Judge  J.  V.  HADLEY. 
"  The  book  is  a  very  interesting  account 
of  a  very  rare  experience." 

— New  York  Times. 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 
153-157  FIFTH  AVENUE,  NEW  YORK 


